obscurechars6

Welcome to Round VI of Obscure DCU Characters. This thread serves as a
Q&A forum focusing on DC's many obscure heroes and villains. Rounds I
through V have been archived at
www.infiniteearths.org/dcu/msgboards and are
available for download. If you're new to this topic, take a few moments to
check out those previous threads. The Obscure DCU Characters list now
stands at 491 characters. Those entries that have yet to be covered are
marked with an asterisk.

Several of the characters who appeared in The Super Dictionary
HAVE made appearance outside of the Dictionary -- specifically Conjura and Ted
and Teri Trapper.

During the mid to early seventies the SRA, in conjunction with Warner
Company and DC Comics, put out four oversized magazine sized reading aids
as part of their SRA line of reading programs (those of us who went to
school in the 70s may remember the SRAs -- color-coded reading modules. You
read a card, answered the questions on the back, and after you read a certain
number of cards in your color you were able to advance to the next color).

They were called Super A and, to my knowledge, four of them were put
out. The stories are reprints of DC stories with the language simplified.
(These were aimed at elementary school readers -- starting at grades
2 to 4).

The interesting thing is that Joe Kubert retouched the art in the
stories to make them more multicultural! For example, in a Superman story,
Lola Barnett, the white, blond-haired gossip columnist for WGBS is
replaced by a black woman, and throughout all four books, various
characters are redrawn to reflect more ethnic diversity.

Which is where Conjura and the Trappers come in.

To be continued...

XanadudeMember

posted April 13, 2002 04:44 PM

There were four Super A books : Green, Blue, Red, and Yellow.

Super A Blue contains stories featuring Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Rex
the Wonder Dog, and Tomahawk. I don't know where the original stories
appeared, but the WW story concerns "monster balloons" and is from the
late fifties. The Aquaman story concerns a "dark island" and is partially
redrawn to include a more ethnically diverse cast (as are all the
stories in all four volumes). The Rex the Wonder Dog story is called "The
Golden Crocodile", and the last story features Tomahawk, Jody, and an
Indian female named Smiling Waters (who is cover featured) called "Half a
Tribe". The inside back cover is a Scooter humor piece.

Super A Yellow features three stories: Batman/Robin/Catwoman in "Bad
Times Under the Big Top". Supergirl in "Supergirl Meets William Tell" -- a
redrawn SuperBOY story. Again, weird to see Joe Kubert artwork next to the
clean Superman late 50s style. The last story is the one of most concern to
us "Obscuritors" though, since it features Ted and Teri Trapper, whose
only other appearance was in The Super Dictionary. They appear in a
story called "The Tiny Trappers", wherein our detective heroes (think of an
African-American Nick and Nora Charles) being captured by the evil Dr. Zarro,
who seemingly shrinks the couple and imprisons them. They escape, of course,
and realize that Zarro did NOT shrink them, but merely had them trapped in
room of oversized objects. The story itself is, as are all the others,
reprints of an early story with certain figures redrawn. In this case, I THINK
(but I could be wrong) that this was originally a Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen
story. Nice clean 50s/60s art with Kubert's dynamic Ted and Teri Trapper
figures.

Next up -- Super A Red and Super B Green, featuring Hilary
and Kermit Hunt, Kate Hunter, and Conjura!

XanadudeMember

posted April 13, 2002 05:07 PM

Addendum: Super A Green is labeled as A1 internally, Blue is A2, Red is
A3, and Yellow is A4.

Super A Red (or A3) has four stories in it -- "Scooter, TV
Star" and "Wonder Woman's Wonderful Plane" are both pretty much straight
forward reprints (although the WW story has a new Kubert drawn intro to the
flashback story) with simplified dialogue.

The first story, "The Dragonflies", is a Superman story, from the looks
of it from the 70s. In it, Hilary Hunt, described as "Everyone knew
Hilary Hunt! She told the latest news on who was doing what in the
movies!". Hilary was an African-American version of Lola Barnett (or
whoever the Rona Barrett analog was in the Superman titles at the time),
whose brother, Kermit, was kidnapped. Superman helped find him. The
interesting thing is, in some panels, Kubert redrew Lola into Hilary,
while in others, the blond-haired Caucasian Lola is simply recolored as
being black.

The last story features Kate Hunter, a red haired Scots lass who
wanted more than anything to play the bagpipes for her clan, but is denied
because she is a girl. In the end, of course, circumstances conspired to
give her her wish and the respect of her clan. The interesting thing about
this story is it is a reprint of another story entitled "Warrior
Shepherd", which featured a young BOY named Burr McGregor. By changing the
sex of the main character, the editor changed a fairly ordinary story into a
"women's lib" story (to use the parlance of the day). Nice and effective.

Super A Green (or A1) has five stories in it including
"Krypto Makes a Movie", Debbi (from A DATE WITH DEBBI) in "You Get What
You Pay For", the Atom in "The Prize in the Popcorn", and Clark Kent in
"Friend for a Day". All are partially redrawn to be more ethnically diverse,
but are again pretty straighforward simplified reprints.

The middle story is the most important to us, since it stars the
covered featured Conjura in "The Magic Piper". The story is a reprint
of the Zatanna story from SUPERGIRL #2, with all of the Zatanna and Jeff
Sloane figures redrawn to be Conjura and her friend Biff (both are African-
American). Again, it's kind of disconcering to have these Kubert drawn
figures set into a Don Heck drawn story. Conjura has the exact same powers
as Zatanna, with the addition of her having a magic carpet (in The Super
Dictionary, she also has a time tunnel). Basically, a tenement building is
infested with rats that will not go away, even with Conjura's magic. So
Conjura goes back through time to get the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Her magic
isn't able to bring him forward in time, but in the last panel, a man
looking exactly like him appears, saying "My name is Pete Piper. But I come
from a long line of rat catchers!"

Internal evidence points to the Super A series being done first or
simultaneously with The Super Dictionary, since stats of Conjura and
the Trappers are lifted directly from these stories and used in the
Dictionary.

So there you have it. Conjura and Ted and Teri Trapper's only other
appearance (as far as I know), plus additions for the obscure Hilary and
Kermit Hunt and Kate Hunter.

S8ntmarkMember

posted April 13, 2002 08:29 PM

Outpost2, Unless someone else is working on them, Id like to do Captain
Fear, Prez, and Dingbats of Danger Street.

Also, here's one for someone... Who was Judge Kobold, The Twice Cursed
Man?

RichcraftMember

posted April 13, 2002 08:33 PM

I'll take Wondertwins (pre-Crisis) and the World Beater.

Zan and Jayna were twins born on Exor, the homeworld of Superman's old
enemy, Grax. Their ancestors were of two races -- ordinary humans and the
shape-shifters. As time went on, both races intermarried and had children.
The shape-shifting genes were not the dominant ones. The few
shape-shifters born on Exor usually could change into one kind of form.

The twins had a unique limitation. They had to touch before their
powers could activate. She could become any animal, and he could become
any form of water. When their parents died in a worldwide plague, the
twins were sold to an intergalactic circus. Because they were shifters,
this was determined to be their only destiny.

They met Gleek, the elasti-monk, who was the pet of Illik, the
laugh-maker (their version of a clown). Frustrated that the other
performers were paid for their services, the twins decided to take a
rocketship in exchange for the wages that they should have earned. Gleek
went with them.

While hiding from the authorities, the twins stumbled onto Grax, who
was recording his plan to destroy the Earth with many bombs. The twins
rushed to Earth to warn the people, and the Justice League and the future
Global Guardians made fast work of the bombs. Meanwhile, Wendy, Marvin,
and Wonder Dog defeated Grax after he attacked them in the JLA satellite.

The twins decided to take Wendy and Marvin's places since they were moving
onto college.

The World Beater was the living personification of many intergalactic
villains. Dr. Ihdrom kidnapped the evildoers and imprisoned them in
escape-proof cells. Two of them were Spectrum and Anti-Man. Wendy
witnessed Wonder Woman and Aquaman's battle with the former, and Marvin
saw the Dynamic Duo and Superman take on the latter.

The World Beater gained many powers after the villains were killed and
their atoms reformatted into his body. The powers of the following
villains are listed below:

Spectrum - any type of light wave

Anti-Man - creates anti-matter blasts, but X-rays harm him

Traveler - teleportation

Turncoat - disguises

Thunderhead - storm power

Powerhouse - strength

Apparition - intangibility

Ultra-Light - speed

Firelord - flames

Sub-Zero - coldness

Bombshell - explosive power

When the World Beater defeated the adult heroes, Marvin and Wendy
realized that he had the powers of Spectrum and Anti-Man. They tricked him
into using his X-Ray power from Spectrum's lightwave magic. This power
negated Anti-Man's forces, and he passed out. The kids used ordinary armor
to make the World Beater project X-rays into them.

Hope this helps.

RajahMember

posted April 16, 2002 05:51 PM

Air Wave II (a.k.a. Harold "Hal" Jordan) is the son of the Golden
Age crimefighter of the same name. The original Air Wave, Larry Jordan, was a
district attorney and amateur inventor who created several devices based
upon radio waves. Armed with a helmet that monitored police bands,
magnetic gloves that could disarm opponents, and magnetized boots that
allowed him to skate across electrical wires, Air Wave was a valiant
member of the All-Star Squadron.

Retiring from crimefighting after the war, Larry settled down and
married his longtime girlfriend. The couple had a son, Harold, who shared
a first name with his cousin (Hal Jordan, Green Lantern II). Sadly, Larry
was murdered by an escaped convict that he had apprehended years earlier.

Determined to follow in his father's footsteps, Harold donned the
experimental new helmet and technology that Larry had been working on.
Presumably, this equipment triggered his latent metagene, for the young man
soon found that he was able to convert his body into electromagnetic
energy. Calling himself Air Wave and wearing an updated version of his
father's costume, Harold became a costumed hero. He teamed up with his cousin
Green Lantern and various other heroes over the course of his career.

Harold served for a time as a member of a group called the Captains of
Industry (during which time he used the codename Maser). After the
Captains went their separate ways, Harold was kidnapped by the
international terrorist known as Kobra. Kept in a special chamber that
siphoned from his electromagnetic powers, Harold unwillingly allowed Kobra
to take control of the Whitehorse satellite array and cause massive
destruction and chaos. He was eventually freed by the recently-reactivated
Justice Society of America. Since that time, Harold has returned to his
old Air Wave name and costume and become a reserve member of the JSA,
assisting them during the Imperiex War.

RajahMember

posted April 16, 2002 06:09 PM

He stands ever watchful and unchanging. Some say he is completely blind
and others claim he can do nothing but see. He is known by many names --
Fate. Kismet. But none is more infamous than DESTINY.

A mysterious cloaked and hooded figure chained to an ancient book,
Destiny is the eldest of the beings known as the Endless. Incarnations of
universal concepts, the Endless are as old as the Universe and more
powerful than gods. They will exist for as long as their function is a
part of human consciousness. Along with Destiny, the Endless are
Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, Destruction, and Delirium (who was once
Delight).

Although he was not the first to make contact with humanity, Destiny
was the first of the Endless to become involved in the affairs of the
superhumans. Long before the Endless were known, Destiny appeared to
several heroes during times of crisis, though he could take no action
himself.

His realm is an infinite garden that twists and turns like a maze. We
are all walking in Destiny's garden, though we do not realize it.

Enigmatic and aloof, Destiny is the most formal of the Endless and the
most difficult to speak to, for his book records all that is, was, and
shall be. At times, he himself has instigated events among his siblings,
such as a family meeting that led his brother Dream to undertake a quest.
But as always, a greater force motivates him and Destiny knows that even
he is merely performing a necessary role at such times.

Though the future is not set in stone, it is believed that when all
things come to nothing, Destiny's sister Death will come for him as well
and quietly turn off the last light in the Universe before departing.

Superb OyMember

posted April 17, 2002 12:19 AM

How about a guy called Oracle? A quicky Watcher knock-off who appeared in
JLA #100-102. He gathered the JSA and the JLA to rescue the members of
the Seven Soldiers of Victory who had been scattered through time. They
were needed to reconstruct a weapon that could destroy some "cosmic hand"
crushing the Earth. After constructing the weapon, the Red Tornado took it
while the teams were debating who should plant it on the cosmic hand, thus
meeting his first 'death'. Also, these issues featured the death of one of
the first heroes to die in the DCU: Wing.

David BedfordNew Member

posted April 17, 2002 08:08 AM

I'll take the Black Bat (hopefully). I've been meaning to get around to
it, so if I post my intention here it might encourage me to actually do it!

Koppy McFadMember

posted April 20, 2002 01:45 AM

The Oracle, a robed man with long hair and beard and cosmic-looking
eyes, who appeared in JLA #100, was a mystic being who was conjured up by Dr.
Fate, Zatanna, and Johnny Thunder's T-Bolt to find the missing Seven
Soldiers of Victory.

Dr. Fate described him as a being who knew almost everything.

He was pretty much a plot device to get the story moving and had little
motivation or background, unlike the Watcher.

When he was conjured up, he remarked that he might punish those who
summon him too casually, but he would help the heroes because he heard good
things about Dr. Fate. He didn't ask anything in return but he was
selective about the information he revealed, so that the writer of the
comic could surprise us.

I have no idea if Oracle ever appeared again. Guess if anyone ever
needs a mystic figure to send a hero on a cosmic quest, then they can
always summon him again.

HellstoneMember

posted April 20, 2002 05:27 AM

No, the Oracle never appeared again, sadly. Not even in the re-telling of
this adventure in an issue of STARS & S.T.R.I.P.E..

/ola

The 'Mazing Cider-ManMember

posted April 20, 2002 05:31 AM

What about ROY BATTY the sexy killer?

a2-tonNew Member

posted April 20, 2002 05:37 PM

Outpost2. I remembered a little more about that issue of FLASH featuring
more of the Speed Force you said you would try to find for me. It occured
just before or during the 'Dark Flash' saga. I hope that narrows your search
down somewhat.

Whoops, missed an appearance of Red Star in my Global Guardians checklist
(in the previous round). I discovered that he also appeared at the end of
DAMAGE #5. I'll retroactively make the correction in the archive file.

a2-ton, I checked out the issues surrounding the 'Dark Flash' saga.
Right before it was the 3-part 'Human Race' story arc. A dying speedster
called G-Force appeared in #135-136, another entity called Krakkl of Kwyzz
appeared in #136-138. Just after the 'Dark Flash' arc was 'Chain
Lightning'. I covered the many speedsters that appeared in that multi-part
tale in a previous round (see 'the Flash Dynasty'). I think that might be what
you were referring to.

outpost2Member

posted April 30, 2002 05:20 PM

Here's another character for the list...
DC's SANTA CLAUS!

Taken from the following threads:http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum3/HTML/002092-21.htmlhttp://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum94/HTML/013165.html

datalore
posted December 21, 2001 03:49 PM

Well, I'm off for a few days, so...
...y'all have a happy holiday!
And, this is more rhetorical... (but since he's appeared so much this
month, in JLA, SPECTRE, and YOUNG JUSTICE...)
...but, how many appearances has Santa had in DC Comics?

Mikishawm
posted December 24, 2001 05:42 AM

Believe it or not, this year's trio of appearances were the first that
Mister Kringle has made in current DCU continuity. Here's where he
appeared prior to that (and I haven't included all the appearances by guys
in Santa Claus outfits):

And best wishes to everyone on the Bat-boards. Thanks for your kind
words and patience over the past year. Hope you all have a happy, peaceful
holiday season and a wonderful 2002!
John Wells

datalore
posted April 30, 2002 12:21 PM

Actually, he was last in JLA #60... (so, he survived PAD!)... and he was
also in SPECTRE #12 lately...
You know, scary thing is... I remember Mikishawm listing this around Christmas
(just can't remember where...)

Enda80
posted April 30, 2002 01:53 PM

I should also mention the LOBO PARAMILITARY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, where
Lobo killed Santa Claus. This event was retold in LOBO #0.

Enda80
posted April 30, 2002 01:55 PM

Santa Claus also appeared in FREEDOM FIGHTERS #7.

taz_19632000Member

posted May 03, 2002 05:34 AM

I was wondering if anyone can give information on a little known
heroine (?) by the name of Moonbow?

Superb OyMember

posted May 03, 2002 10:06 AM

All I know of Moonbow was that she was a spoiled/bored young lady
who appeared twice in the FURY OF FIRESTORM and once somewhere else.
Sorry I don't have the issue numbers at hand.

Obviously more closely associated with the competition, can anyone
name some appearance of Thor, Odin, Loki, et al. in the DCU? Maybe
this could be an entry for the 'Obscure DCU characters' thread!

Old Dude
posted May 08, 2002 11:58 PM

I think I remember Thor showing up in ALL-STAR SQUADRON as a
stooge for Hitler. But I wouldn't bet the farm on my vague
recollection.

However, in a 1958 or 1959 issue of BATMAN, there was indeed a
story in which Thor battled the Caped Crusader.

That was a great issue, incidently. In addition to the Thor story,
there was a tale in which Alfred gained super-powers, fought crime
dressed as an eagle, and lost his powers again -- all in 8 pages.

And finally, one of my all-time favorite Batman stories.

Earlier, there had been a book-length story in which a
supercomputer tells what would have happened to Kal-El if Krypton had
not exploded (he was destined to become Superman even on his home
planet).

So in this issue they did an 8-pager with the same concept: What
would have happened to Bruce Wayne if his parents had not been
murdered. Sure enough, he still became Batman.

And to top it off, all three Batman stories were drawn by the
great Dick Sprang.

Mikishawm
posted May 09, 2002 06:29 AM

The Thor from ALL-STAR SQUADRON # 18 originally appeared in a
Golden Age Sandman story from ADVENTURE COMICS # 75 (reprinted in
both FOREVER PEOPLE # 6 and ADVENTURE COMICS # 499).

And I've got that BATMAN issue (# 127: October, 1959), which is
definitely a great one! The lead, as you note, has Alfred as the
Eagle vs. the Joker. Next up is the imaginary tale, "The Second Life
of Batman". And, finally, museum curator Henry Meke channels Thor in
the final story.

Finally, though I know it'll raise as many questions as it
answers, here's my list of Norse gods in the DCU:

The second Thor was the Dan Richards' dog in the Manhunter series
(POLICE COMICS # 8). The Sandman fought the third THOR in ADVENTURE
COMICS # 75 (and he returned in ALL-STAR SQUADRON # 18). The fourth,
fifth and sixth villains by that name appeared in MARVEL FAMILY # 23,
BLACKHAWK # 89 and BATMAN # 127.

The second TYR is a foe of the Legion of Super-Heroes (SUPERBOY
# 197).

VIDAR:
Captain Action # 2 (mention)

VOLSUNG (Earth-12):
The Inferior Five # 4

WOTAN I (current; also see ODIN: C):
New Gods [third series] # 7

WOTAN I (Earth-1854):
The Ring of the Nibelung # 1-3

The second WOTAN first encountered Doctor Fate in MORE FUN COMICS
# 55.

WOTON (Earth-S; also see ODIN: E2, E1):
Master Comics # 42

dataloreMember

posted May 09, 2002 02:59 PM

MOONBOW

First Appearance:
Fury Of Firestorm #48 (June 1986)

Bree Brandon was a college student at Vandeemer University with
Ronnie Raymond. She was studying both acting and journalism... and, as
a lark, fought organized crime dressed in her Moonbow costume, taking
their money for her use; which gave her a bit of a criminal
reputation. When actually captured by one of the groups whose
deliveries she had messed up, she was unable to escape them... until
Firestorm happened by to save her (and let her go since he recognized
her as his fellow classmate). Bree was around here and there,
covering events as a campus report, and appeared to be working on
Circe's side during her recent attack on New York and Wonder Woman
(which may have just been her working undercover, since, in her
brief time as Moonbow, she was considered to be a criminal).

Some people would set the original Kid Eternity stories not on Earth-S,
but on Earth-Quality, since Kid Eternity was never owned by Fawcett.
(Earth-Quality is where the original Quality stories of Plastic Man,
Blackhawk, etc. took place. It is distinct from Earth-X, whose Blackhawk
and Plastic Man were actually native to Earth-2, in that the Axis lost
World War II. Of course, Kid Eternity summoned Blackhawk and Plastic
Man while they were still apparently alive! Maybe the original Kid
Eternity stories did take place on Earth-S, and the Blackhawk and Plastic
Man of Earth-S died early.)

From http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/1185/atlas4.html

Info on Earth-Quality:

HIT COMICS #26 (Kid Eternity summons Plastic Man)

HIT COMICS #32 (Kid Eternity summons Blackhawk)

Mikel MidnightMember

posted May 19, 2002 11:12 AM

Enda80: or ... maybe ... for the Kid Eternity of Earth-S, all the heroes
that he summons are from Earth-Quality! (which is why Quality published
him and not Fawcett).

Nevermind.

RichcraftMember

posted May 19, 2002 12:47 PM

Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew

These animal personifications live on Earth-C (for Cartoon) where
everyone is an animal version of regular people. Superman wound up in
their dimension while battling Starro, the giant extraterrestrial
starfish.

When Superman passed through into this realm, he used a meteor to help
him pass through Starro's barrier. The meteor broke into six pieces, and
each hero was exposed to a meteorite's radiation (which included some of
Superman's energies).

Rodney Roger Rabbit (the first name finally came about when Who Framed
Roger Rabbit was being considered to made into a film) was the only one
who didn't receive his powers directly. He has to eat a carrot from his
window sill garden that a meteorite landed in. Each carrot gives him about 24
hours of powers, depending on his exertion. As Captain Carrot, Rodney has
super-strength, super-speed, super-senses, and (eventually) the power of
flight.

Felina Furry became Alley-Cat-Abra when her magic wanda became enfused
with mystical powers after exposure to her meteorite. But while she is
great at teleportation and sending telepathic messages, she tends to be
the least dependable in a crisis. For some unknown reason, most of her
powers are useless against their super-foes. When she uses her brain
instead of brute force, she usually defeats her enemies.

Actor Byrd Rentals became Rubberduck after he was exposed to his
meteorite. He can stretch to incredible lengths and change into almost any
kind of shape.

Rova Barkett, gossip columnist, turned into Yankee Poodle when her
meteorite gave her the strange powers of "animal magnetism". Her right
hand can shoot blue stars that repel anything. Her left hand can emit red
and white stripes that can attract anything. She is also sensitive to the
auras emitted by others. She can fly by creating a striped bridge and
propelling herself with her shooting stars. She also can destroy almost
anything by firing her stars and stripes (with contrasting energy forces)
at objects.

Peter Porkchops had his own DC comic books before his meteorite turned
him into Pig Iron, the Swine of Steel. He is virtually invulnerable, very
strong, and very large (his former self was a bit of a runt).

Fastback is Timmy Joe Terrapin, a slow turtle both in action and in
thoughts, until his meteorite gave him the power of super-speed. He is by
far the most easy-going hero of the Crew.

Little Cheese became the latest member, who does not share the others'
origin. He gained the power to shrink in size after eating some moon
cheese. He aided the Zoo Crew in capturing his father's killer.

The Zoo Crew also helped to end the Oz-Wonderland War when the former
mystical land was taken over by an evil gnome. In this adventure, Captain
Carrot was reunited briefly with Wonder Wabbit and they met Hoppy the
Marvel Bunny.

taz_19632000Member

posted May 22, 2002 06:13 AM

You know, as strange as it seems... I am in the process of re-doing The
GL Corps web-site (to fit my needs). If you want, when I am done I will
post the info here for you to put on your site or wherever you may want to
put it.

The story of Thanatos begins with uniformed police officer Paul and
plainclothes detective John pondering why a number of prominent citizens --
doctors, industrialists, attorneys -- have suddenly become petty criminals.
When captured, the spaced-out men repeatedly babble, "I'm dead! Thanatos
killed me!"

Meanwhile, Aquaman, having stayed too long while visiting
surface-dwelling friends, is racing to return to the sea. Weakened, he
proves little challenge to a gang of thugs that jump him. Then, somewhere
in the darkness, voices are heard shouting, "Strap him down!" and "Get the
machinery working! Hurry!".

Aquaman suddenly finds himself in the ocean
depths, in front of what appears to be a stereotypical "haunted house"
from the surface. Believing he is to meet his wife Mera inside, he
enters and goes upstairs. Suddenly, a hulking, enraged doppelganger of the
Sea King bursts from a mirror and begins pummeling him. Aquaman falls and
his assailant, Thanatos, hurries away.

Aquaman awakens in his bed in
Atlantis, Mera at his side. Meanwhile, Thanatos is having trouble
breathing on dry land. Surmising this has something to do with "the being
whose features I stole", Thanatos jumps into the sea and is restored. He
travels to Atlantis and again beats Aquaman.

Meanwhile, Paul and John are on to something. Doctors have determined that
the men arrested in the crime spree believe they have been murdered by their
own "dark sides", embodied by a creature called "Thanatos" -- the death
instinct. Figuratively killed, John says, "they become 'death-oriented'... or
a criminal". There is only one man who could devise a scheme like this, he
declares.

"You don't mean...?" Paul asks.

"Yes!" (Oddly, we never do learn the name of the criminal mastermind. We
are told, however, that he kidnapped Mera in issue #44).

Elsewhere, Aquaman rides his giant seahorse into Rusdic, an underwater
"wild west" town. He is shot by Thanatos and awakens again in Atlantis. But
this time, Arthur knows something is wrong. Before he can try to make sense of
it, Thanatos crashes into the royal bed chamber and attacks again.

Simultaneously, John, Paul and other police (George and Ringo?) attack a
mob boss' hideout. As John batters the bald bad guy into submission, Aquaman
gains the upper hand on his foe, defeating Thanatos.

The police free the criminal gang's latest victims from their brainwashing
machines. For two men, it is too late; Thanatos has already "killed" them.
Aquaman, however, is groggy, but okay.

In a text piece following the story, author Skeates explained the issue was
an experiment, an attempt depict the nature of dreams. Thanatos was apparently
never intended to be a real character.

Or was he? During the haunted house sequence, the narrative
boxes all address Thanatos. They speak of the long years he has waited
for someone to release him and, after he defeats Aquaman, they proclaim
"You are Thanatos! You are free... And the world is yours!"

Whatever Skeates intended, Thanatos was definitely real by the time of the
post-Crisis second volume of AQUAMAN. In issue #7 (June 1992, "What
Matters Most", by Shaun McLaughlin, Ken Hooper, and Bob Dvorak), the
unconscious Sea King is fighting for his life in a Poseidonis hospital. In
his mind, he is assailed by illusions of Mera and their dead son, the JLA,
and Aqualad. Meanwhile, in another dimension, Thanatos, dressed in
Aquaman's blue costume from his first mini-series, controls the illusions
as part of a plan to get Aquaman to give in to his dark side.

Musing, "Years ago, I tried to take his place by entering his mind. But his
will was too strong. And now he's all but inviting me in". Thanatos is
interrupted by the appearance of the real Mera, who believes Thanatos is
her husband. (In Aquaman's second mini-series, Mera had gone insane and
died -- temporarily -- fighting her estranged husband. She then fled Earth's
dimension).

In the end, Aquaman refuses to give into hate and recovers. Thanatos, with
Mera and "A.J." at his side, is left to plot his next move.

Mera, A.J., and Thanatos returned in AQUAMAN [3rd series] #12-14
(Sep-Nov 1995) in a story by Peter David, Martin Egeland
and Howard Shum. Arthur (or "Orin" as he is now called) and his new lover,
Dolphin, come face-to-face with Mera, who has returned to Earth, but has
no memory of ever leaving it. She struggles to remember, when Thanatos
compels her to return to him via a portal in a deep sea crevasse. Orin and
Dolphin give chase.

In issue #13, Aquaman and Thanatos "the Undead"
battle in the ever-changing landscape of an alien dimension, all the while
being watched by "The Others". It is revealed that they rule this place
"where discorporated beings from previous lives -- like Thanatos -- are
trapped until The Others decide they are worthy of re-entering the
corporeal world".

A quick aside: at the time, David was using Bible book names (such as
"Exodus", "Acts", "Judges", and "Lamentations") as
story titles, but it's interesting to note that the title on the cover of
issue #13 is "Arena". "The Arena" is also the title of a short story
(adapted as a memorable episode of the original "Star Trek") in which a
human fights an alien in a battle to the death. In "Trek", Kirk shows his
Gorn nemesis compassion and refuses to kill him. The godlike aliens
overseeing the battle reward him by allowing both combatants to go free.

PAD puts a neat spin on his version. When Aquaman spares his
defeated enemy, The Others are revealed as demons who consider compassion
a weakness. They decide Aquaman must stay in their world until he is
"adequately evil". Thanatos is loosed on Earth.

He would have been
better off staying home. Arriving in Poseidonis the following issue,
Thanatos is angered to find it a deserted ruin. He begins swimming toward
the surface just as Major Disaster (amped up by Neron as part of
"Underworld Unleashed") causes a jetliner to crash into a nuclear powered
submarine. The resulting explosion triggers a sea quake. A massive boulder
falls from a ledge and slams into Thanatos, knocking him into a fissure in
the seabed. Before he can escape, it crashes shut, crushing the villain.

As far as I know, Thanatos has not been seen since, but
considering the nature of the beast, he could be brought back at any time
-- especially once Aquaman is resurrected.

HISTORY: In the late 30th Century after Zero Hour, Tomar-Ro, a Xudarian
criminal with expertise in advanced technology and ancient history,
constructed a siphon to tap the ambient energy left in the area of space once
occupied by the planet Oa. The siphon was housed in a cloaked space station
dubbed Oa Two.

Tomar-Ro created rings to mimic the abilities of the original
Oan Power Rings once wielded by the Green Lantern Corps. The rings could
transmit the siphoned emerald energy but only had a narrow range of
capabilities. Using the legend of the original Corps, Tomar-Ro formed his
own Green Lantern Corps, supplying them with their rings.

Tomar-Ro was a Xudarian of unusual physical size for his species. His
ring created pirahana-like fish to attack an opponent.

Flaay P'kari had been convicted of murder, kidnapping, and extortion,
marking him as once of the most violent of Tomar-Ro's gang. He possessed a
ring which created large alien beasts.

Nytoro Borin was a spoiled rich girl growing up on Lortia, whose
criminal record since she was a juvenile had been growing increasingly
more serious. Her ring enabled her to create explosive projectile charges.

Renno, an expert star pilot and hired muscle, was the largest of the
group, encased in an armored form, though it has not been established if
Renno is composed of any organic material. His ring was used to create
mechanical objects such as jump ships and holding cells.

Din Collus was a career mercenary before joining the Corps. Parts of
his body had been replaced with various cybernetic implants due to
injuries sustained in his many battles. His ring created a high-powered
energy rifle.

A Sklarian Raider whose real name remains a mystery had a history as a
paid assassin. Her ring created melee weaponry such as knives and clubs.

Finally, Sparak came from the doomed colony world Reetus and had an
utter disregard for any form of life. His ring created objects such as
webbing or cables to ensnare a victim.

Though the rings used the same emerald energy of the original Corps'
rings, it is not yet known if these rings needed to be recharged every
twenty-four hours or had a vulnerability to yellow. As with the original
Corps' rings, Tomar-Ro's rings granted the wearer the ability of flight and
could protect the wearer from the hazards of space travel. Presumably the
rings draw on a limited template of objects with specific functions in order
to mimic the original Corps rings. While will power may have been needed to
operate them, it is doubtful imagination would have played any part in
improving their limited functions.

At first, the new Green Lantern Corps performed heroic deeds to gain
the trust of the worlds of the United Planets. Before too long they had
revealed their true purpose, high profile crime. Neither the Science
Police nor the Legion of Super-Heroes were able to stop them.

The Corps stole many of history's great treasures, including objects
believed to be the helmet of Doctor Fate and the hook appendage worn by
Aquaman in the 20th Century.

In New London's Piccadilly Circus, a man wearing the colors of the
Green Lantern Corps appeared out of nowhere. His name was Kyle Rayner, the
last of the Green Lanterns. He had been transported though time after a
battle with Grayven in the late 20th Century. Rayner was immediately
attacked by the citizens of New London, yet offered little resistance when
taken into custody by the Science Police.

In Paris, the Corps had a confrontation with a handful of Legionnaires.
Ironically, the sculpture they had stolen, "Sorrow", had been created by
Rayner later in his life and was considered one of history's great
masterpieces.

The Legion interviewed the 20th Century Green Lantern and realized he
was not part of Tomar-Ro's Corps. His experience would prove valuable to
the Legion in their pursuit of the Corps.

When Oa Two was uncovered by the 20th Century Green Lantern and Xs,
Invisible Kid, Ultra Boy, and Lightning Lass of the Legion of Super-Heroes,
the Green Lantern Corps went on the offensive, striking down the Legion
and taking them as prisoners.

Tomar-Ro himself defeated the true Green Lantern, as he relished the
chance to acquire an actual Oan power ring.

Tomar-Ro took the Green Lantern's power ring but could not make it
work. He was even more frustrated when the ring vanished from his finger.
Though his Corps searched Oa Two for the ring, they could not find it.

The ring had been reclaimed by Ganthet, the last of the Guardians of the
Universe, and given to Cary Wren, a young woman living on the streets
of New London and an ancestor of Kyle Rayner. The ring would work for her, as
she shared the same genetic profile as Rayner. Ganthet wished for Wren to
reclaim the honor of the Green Lantern Corps from Tomar-Ro's band of
criminals.

Tomar-Ro, frustrated by his interrogation of the powerless Kyle Rayner,
decided to use him as an example to an approaching Legion cruiser. The
Green Lantern Corps would hold the Legion members hostage until their
demands were met, including full immunity for the crimes they had
committed and a planet of their own to rule as kings. Tomar-Ro planned to
throw Rayner out the airlock unless the Legion agreed to his terms.
Unfortunately for the Xudarian, Rayner managed to escape even without the
power ring.

Wren breached the force shield of Oa Two and quickly freed captive
members of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Super-speedster Xs, granddaughter of
the second Flash, left her teammates to search the station for the
"Sorrow" sculpture. Wren followed her and met the Legionnaire at Oa Two's
energy siphon.

While the Legion fought the Corps, Cary Wren sought to deprive them of
the energy powering their rings. Wren trained her power ring on the
siphon, forcing it to overload. Wild energy bursts tore holes in the
siphon, quickly overwhelming the novice Green Lantern. Kyle Rayner,
realizing what she was doing, added his willpower to her's. With
concentration, they were able to absorb the energy into the power ring.
The Legion could now easily defeat the Corps.

The members of the Green Lantern Corps were taken into custody and the
objects they had stolen were returned to their rightful owners. The fate
of Oa Two, and the possibility that another might follow in Tomar-Ro's
footsteps by recreating the Corps, has yet to be explored.

Professor Zoom and Abra Kadabra impersonated the two and challenged the
Justice League in THE FLASH [1st series] #175 (December 1967).

The planet Ventura also appeared in several pre-Zero Hour Legion stories,
and, when last seen, Plastic Man visited it in JLA: HEAVEN'S LADDER.

I loved those little guys.

/ola

PsiKillMember

posted June 04, 2002 10:05 PM

From the original list, the very first post of this topic, there is a
listing for Astra, girl of the future. I'm curious if the Astra that was
a member of the JSA in ELSEWORLD'S FINEST was some kind of homage to this
character or bore any kind of similarity. Anyone know?

Aussie Bloke 10Member

posted June 04, 2002 10:14 PM

Wow, Outpost!

Thanks for collecting the info and the link! I now use it all for my
hobby, mate! It's so damn useful!

You might have seen my thread, but I was wondering if we could start a
thread on planets (its locations etc), dimensions, and places, etc.? I
could use info on it.

I wonder, do you regularly update your site?

It sure would be cool to see a pic of each character though...

Cool job!

Lou

outpost2Member

posted June 05, 2002 12:06 PM

Originally posted by Aussie Bloke 10:

Wow, Outpost!
Thanks for collecting the info and the link! I now use
it all for my hobby, mate! It's so damn useful!

The real thanks go to the dozens of people who have contributed to
these threads, especially Hellstone for starting this particular one, and
Mikishawm for all his amazing posts.

You might have seen my thread, but I was wondering if we could start
a thread on planets (its locations etc), dimensions, and places, etc.? I
could use info on it.

It would probably clutter things up to have those posts here on this
thread. Hmmmm... "Obscure planets and dimensions in the DCU"? It has
potential. I have some material that I
had put together a few years ago regarding maps of the Solar System, Milky
Way Galaxy and the Universe. I'm at work now, but I'll post a link
tonight. Why don't you bump your thread and this one so that they get
grouped together, that way I can find them more readily.

I wonder, do you regularly update your site?

I updated the Obscure DCU stuff a month or two ago. I'm working on
adding to the Batman archive as we speak. Look for it in a month or so.

It sure would be cool to see a pic of each character
though...

You're right. Thanks for volunteering! I can't wait to see what you
come up with.

History: Four millennia ago, in ancient Egypt, an evil magician named
Serpenotep conquered the Land of the Nile by imprisoning the benevolent
wizard that had protected the people. Serpenotep ruled tyrannically until
the original Isis, posing as a servant, sneaked past the guards and into
the wizard's prison. The wizard explained that she would be unable to free
him until Serpenotep was defeated, but that he was able to transfer some
of his power into those who are worthy. Using his magic, he caused an
amulet necklace to appear around her neck, and an amulet tiara on her
head. He told her that she now possessed the powers of the pyramid -- she
could soar as the falcon soars, run with the speed of gazelles, and
command the elements of earth and sky. The new heroine then confronted the
wicked tyrant. Serpenotep commanded his snakes to entwine the young
goddess, but she recited an incantation which freed both her and the old
wizard. Isis and the wizard combined their power and encased Serpenotep in
stone. For years afterwards, Isis guarded those in need, until the day
finally came that she passed on. She predicted that she would come again,
in another form, to battle evil.

A few centuries later, during the mid 15th century B.C., Queen
Hatshepsut ruled as Egypt's first and only female pharaoh. Thanks to his
powerful magic, the old wizard still lived, and served as her royal
sorcerer. Sensing greatness in her, the wizard presented the Queen with
the mystical amulet. He told Hatshepsut that she and her descendants would
be endowed by the goddess Isis with great powers. Upon donning the amulet
and invoking the name of the goddess, Hatshepsut was transformed into the
mighty Isis. After her death, the wizard took the amulet and hid it, along
with a scroll which explained the secrets of Isis. He cast a spell,
designed to lure one of the Queen's worthy descendants to the site, so
that the power of Isis could be rediscovered in some future era.

In the early 10th century B.C., the wizard, who had long since left
Egypt, traveled to Jerusalem and studied with King Solomon. On the king's
death-bed, the wizard gathered a small essence from the dying wise man.
From the banks of the River Styx, he drew the essence of Achilles. From
the edge of the world, he implored the Titan Atlas to donate some of his
power. In Thebes, he sought out the Greek demi-god Herakles, but instead
found his Roman counterpart, Hercules, from which he drew strength. Upon
hearing of the wizard's endeavor, the Roman god Mercury joined the
coalition. The king of the Greek gods, Zeus, appeared and imparted a
portion of his power. The wizard bound the power into a magic lightning
bolt, and renamed himself Shazam.

Sometime in the late 20th century, an American teacher named Andrea
Thomas traveled to Egypt as part of a scientific expedition. While digging
alone at one of the sites, she discovered the amulet tiara and scroll.
Something compelled her to put on the tiara, which felt oddly familiar to
her. She then discovered that she could read the scroll, as if the amulet
had given her the knowledge to understand the ancient hieroglyphics. It
read "With this you shall have the powers of the goddess Isis: powers over
the forces of nature, and of the animals; powers of the mystical regions
of the mind. To have those powers, you must repeat the words 'Mighty
Isis!'". Andrea felt compelled to try, and the greatest of heroines was
reborn.

Years later, Isis gave up her Andrea Thomas alter ego, and helped form
The Freedom Force, along with Hercules, Merlin, Sinbad, and Super Samurai.
They operated out of a pyramid in The Valley of Time.

Weapons and Powers: Isis derives her magical abilities from her
mystical amulet. She possesses powers over the forces of nature and
animals, and powers of the mind, which she invokes through various
incantations.

Comments: Isis is copyright (c) 1975 by Filmation Associates.

outpost2Member

posted June 07, 2002 02:00 PM

Note: Most of my info on the various Isis television series is based on
the few web sites that I could find. You'll note some question marks in
some of the episode titles, which reflects discrepancies between the
sites. It was also not clear exactly where the dividing line was between
the first and second seasons of The Shazam/Isis Hour.

The Isis segments featured Andrea Thomas, a high school teacher who had
discovered an ancient Egyptian amulet while on an archaeological
expedition. When in the possession of the amulet, Andrea has but to speak
the magic words "Oh mighty Isis!" and she is transformed into a
super-powered heroine. Andrea's supporting cast included her pet myna Tut,
the principal Dr. Barnes, fellow teacher Rick Mason, and student Cindy
Lee.

After two seasons, Isis continued in her own spin-off series The
Secrets Of Isis. She later returned in animated form as part of
Tarzan And The Super 7.

The live action adventures of Isis continued for one more season.
Andrea's supporting cast included her pet myna Tut, the principal Dr.
Barnes, fellow teacher Rick Mason, and student Renee Carroll. She later
made the transition from live action to cartoon form, appearing next as
part of The Freedom Force on Tarzan And The Super 7.

This animated series featured seven segments: Tarzan, Batman,
Superstretch and Microwoman, Webwoman, Manta and Moray, The Freedom Force,
and Jason Of Star Command. The Freedom Force's roster was comprised of
Isis, Hercules, Merlin, Sinbad, and Super Samurai.

Chapter One "The Clocks Of Steadfast". The little town of Steadfast is
known for it's abundance of clocks. Unfortunately, it takes 30 minutes for
all the clocks to finish chiming because none are on time. Prez Rickard, a
teen-aged resident of Steadfast, is head of the local stock car club; his
sleek racer "The Lollipop" is usually in front of the pack. When Prez wins
the latest race and asks for his winning time, the two judges give him two
different results, because neither could accurately set their watches.
Later, at home with his mother and sister, Prez discusses the problem. The
prior year, 18 year olds had won the right to vote. Prez is bothered
because, if the clocks aren't on time, how can anyone possibly know when
Election Day arrives. He decides that he's going to fix all the clocks of
Steadfast. It takes a couple of weeks, but the determined Prez fulfills
his promise.

Chapter Two "The Boss Of Slum City". The scene switches to the slums of
Central City, USA. The Mayor, Boss Smiley, runs a corrupt and filthy city.
Unfortunately for him, the young people are beginning to protest. Smiley
is concerned that the kids can hurt him at the ballet box, so he gives
orders to his men to find a young, ambitious, and pliable candidate that
the teens can relate to. They visit Smiley's cousin, Misery Marko the
advertising genius, for advice. Smiley wants a young candidate to run for
Senator. Marko says that, in order for their candidate to win, he must
have a gimmick. He shows a newspaper, the Steadfast Times, to Boss Smiley.
There is a front page article on Prez Rickard and how he repaired the town
clocks. The following day, Smiley and his men approach Prez, telling the
teen that they want him to run for Senator. When asked how he got a name
like "Prez", the youth explains that when he was born his mother said
"someday this baby will be President", so she named his accordingly. After
thinking it over, Prez accepts Smiley's offer.

Chapter Three "Eagle Free". Traveling through a forest, on a road back
to Central City, Boss Smiley tosses a lit cigar out of his car. It starts
a brush fire, which is quickly put out by an American Indian named Eagle
Free. The teen tells his animal friends that he feels a strange
foreboding. He isn't yet aware that Boss Smiley is awarding a contract to
build a super-highway through the forest (built, of course, by a company
that Smiley himself owns). Several weeks later, candidate Prez Rickard
attends a ceremony to launch construction of the road. He triggers the
first dynamite charge. The explosion destroys the nearby dam, disturbing
the once peaceful forest. Eagle Free leads his animals to the construction
site, where they begin to destroy Smiley's machinery. After the
devastation is complete, they run off into the forest. Prez tells Boss
Smiley that he'll go after the vandal.

Soon afterward, Prez stumbles on the young Indian in a hidden cave.
Prez tussles with Eagle Free, but the animals quickly put a stop to the
fight. Eagle Free then explains that he lives in the cave shelter where
his forefathers have lived for thousands of years, before the white men
came to poison the forests, streams, and air. He has studied the animals
as no man has ever done before, and has acquired their senses. He has
uncovered the secrets of sound, scent, sight, and swiftness. Prez looks
around and questions how a savage could possibly understand all the books,
the chemicals, and the scientific equipment in the cave. Eagle Free
explains that he had spent some years in the outside world, studied at
universities, but prefers to live with nature, as his ancestors did. Prez
says he'd like to live like that too, but Eagle Free tells Prez that he
represents all that they detest. A confused Prez asks him to explain.
Eagle Free tells the naive candidate that he is being used as a tool to
pursue the evil deeds of Boss Smiley and his corrupt crew. He claims he
can prove it, but Prez must spend a few days to learn the secrets he will
need for such a dangerous mission.

Days later, under cover of night, Eagle Free and Prez sneak into Boss
Smiley's skyscraper headquarters. They break into Smiley's office and
rifle through his files, uncovering damning evidence of payoffs, swindles,
and bribes. Smiley's men discover the break-in and hold the teens until
Smiley arrives. Prez tells Boss Smiley that if he gets into office, he'll
see to it that Smiley is through. Smiley responds that Prez will never get
the chance, because he will renounce him and get a new candidate that will
take orders. But it is too late, the clock strikes midnight... it is
Election Day.

Prez wins the 1972 Congressional election. After the youth of America
gain a majority in the Congress, they vote an amendment to the
Constitution which lowers the required age of the President from 35 to 18.
During the 1976 elections, Senator Prez Rickard, running on the new Flower
Party ticket, upsets both the Republican and Democratic candidates to win
the Presidency. His Truth-and-Love campaign has polarized the old and
young generations. Prez assigns Eagle Free to be the new F.B.I. Chief. His
Vice-President is only shown in shadows. The V.P. tells Prez that he
already faces a lot of opposition from the over-thirty crowd, and there is
already a movement to impeach him. Eagle Free says they've heard of that
conspiracy, and know it is connected with a plot so ingenious, so
sinister, that it could well destroy the world.

Note: The author clearly states that this series takes place outside of
regular continuity. Eagle Free is even aware that he and the others are
merely comic book characters.

"Invasion Of The Chessmen". Prez and Eagle Free visit numerous
countries around the world and are disturbed by the level of violence. The
President addresses the United Nations, asking for peace in our time.
Later, at the Washington Airport, Prez enters one of the limousines
waiting for him, the others contain remarkable look-alikes to confuse any
would-be assassin.

Chapter Two "Chessking". Back at the White House, Prez's secretary
tells him that he is to give an award to the captain of the U.S. Olympic
World Chess Championship Team. Prez is excited to meet the eccentric
Robbie Fishhead, the man who calls himself Chessking. The President goes
to greet Chessking, hoping to play a game or two with him, but discovers
that he is already playing the Vice President. The V.P., a burly woman
named Martha, is quickly beaten by the obnoxious chess master. The
reporters and photographers soon arrive, and Chessking boasts that the
Russians were pushovers. A few of the reporters ask him about Russian
claims that he used hypnosis and electronic rays to defeat them. Chessking
states that he'll play any Russian for a million dollars. The next day in
Moscow, the angered White Russian Chess Team accepts their rival's
challenge.

The day of the chess match comes. It is being held at Washington
Stadium. Prez and Eagle Free watch as the two sides prepare for a live
chess match, where the players are the pieces themselves. Two hours into
the game, Chessking begins to rant and rave that the Russians are using
electronic rays on him. He begins to attack the opposing team, and a fight
breaks out. The Russian's White Queen vows to destroy her rival. Prez
demands a full investigation of the whole disgraceful affair.

Chapter Three "Terror In The Capitol". A few days after the aborted
chess match, robotic chess pieces begin exploding all over Washington. The
nation's capital is in panic, so the Congress holds an emergency session.
Senator Ebeneezer proclaims that the President has proven that he is unfit
to run the country. Other elder Congressmen agree. Later, as the terror
continues, Prez summons Senator Ebeneezer to his office. The angry Senator
and a collegue inform Prez that they are instituting impeachment
proceedings as soon as they can muster enough support. After they leave,
Prez tells Martha to contact Eagle Free.

Chapter Four "Poison Pawn". Eagle Free asks Prez to meet him at his
place, where there is sure to be no bugging devices. Martha makes use of
the President's look-alikes to sneak Prez out of the White House. He
arrives at Eagle Free's teepee headquarters, located on the banks of the
Potomac River. That night, Eagle Free brings Prez and his animal friends
to the roof of the Russian Embassy. From there, they spot more mechanical
chess pieces heading towards the Treasury Building. They are unable to
stop the marauding robots, but Eagle Free realizes that they may find an
answer at Washington's power plant. They meet with one of the plant's
managers at dawn. He shows them that an unusual amount of electrical power
is being consumed in the Silver Springs area. Eagle Free recalls that that
is where the home of Chessking is located.

Shortly, Prez and Eagle Free arrive at the chess master's home, which
is a veritable fortress surrounded by an army of chess robots. The pieces
encircle them, then the chess square upon which they are standing falls
open. They tumble into the basement of the fortress. They are shocked to
discover Chessking in chains, and the Russian Queen at the controls of his
computer. She proclaims herself the new world chess champion, then pulls a
machine gun on the duo. As she prepares to fire, some of Eagle Free's
winged friends arrive and disarm her. She is easily overpowered, and
Chessking is freed.

Later, at the White House, Martha states that all the money stolen from
the Treasury was recovered except for one new dollar bill. Prez produces
the bill and asks Martha to return it to the Treasury. The new bill
displays the face of Prez Rickard instead of George Washington! When
Martha asks him how he got it, he responds that it'll remain his little
secret.

"Epilogue". On May 3rd, around 8:35pm, Senator McNitty arrives at an
urgent meeting in the President's office to discuss the Right To Gun
Control amendment. He tells Prez that the amendment must be killed for the
safety of all Americans. Suddenly, the lights go out, and a sharpshooter's
bullet shatters a window. Twenty minutes later, an ambulance is seen
leaving the White House.

"Invasion Of America". A group of soldiers, dressed in Revolutionary
War uniforms, are lead by a General Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue.
When they reach the White House, they fire a missile through one of the
windows. Eagle Free and two armed guards are shocked when a dwarf emerges
from the shell. The little intruder is brought before the President. He
states that he is a Washington Minuteman, and that this mock invasion
serves to dramatize their objection to his bill to outlaw firearms.
Senator Fireside arrives and congratulates the dwarf, Baron Von Stomp, for
the good show. The Senator tells Prez to take this as a warning. After
ejecting the Senator and Von Stomp, Prez asks his F.B.I. Chief about the
Minutemen. Eagle Free tells him that they are an extreme right-wing
organization whose members have been storing hordes of arms all over the
country. They are led by Gregor Washington, the great-great-grandnephew of
George Washington. Eagle Free informs the President that they have files
on all their leaders, and are also infiltrating their ranks.

Chapter Two "Winter At Valley Forgery". It is December 1977, and the
Minutemen are camped in a small village near Philadelphia. The men are
lining up to receive their monthly stipend, which is comprised of
counterfeit ten dollar bills. On February 18th, Eagle Free reports to the
President that the Minutemen are without funds and are tormented by the
raging winter. The President vows to sign the firearms bill first thing in
the morning. After Eagle Free leaves, Prez stands at his office window. At
exactly midnight, a sharpshooter's bullet strikes the President. All
through the nation, millions of Americans grieve and pray for the Prez.

Chapter Three "The Dollar Machine". General Gregor Washington decides
that the time to strike has arrived. Von Stomp tells him that the men are
hungry and cannot proceed. The counterfeit money they have printed is not
of high enough quality to be useful. When Von Stomp shows Gregor the new
dollar bill, which replaces the picture of his ancestor with an image of
Prez Rickard, the General is infuriated. Von Stomp says he has a plan, and
calls for Imperiale, who carries in a large machine. Imperiale works at
the Treasury, but is a secret member of their organization. He proposes
that they counterfeit one dollar bills instead. Nobody would suspect a one
dollar counterfeit bill because they are usually too expensive to produce,
but his new machine turns out a hundred perfect copies a minute. The new
dollar machine turns out enough money to feed, clothe, and defrost the
troops. A few days later, Gregor's forces advance.

Chapter Four "Invasion". Prez and the Army meet Eagle Free at Nature
Nation, his teepee headquarters. Eagle Free informs the President that the
Minutemen have captured General Patting of the National Guard. Prez tells
the Army General that they must find a way to stop the Minutemen without
causing a blood bath. The President asks his F.B.I Chief for his advice.
Eagle Free says that when warring Indian tribes wished to avoid a
massacre, the two rival chiefs fought each other to the death. Prez tells
his friend to contact Gregor and deliver his challenge. Gregor accepts and
Eagle Free leaves to arrange for a truce. Gregor then sends for Sergeant
Hood, their black belt karate instructor, who is disguised to resemble the
General.

Chapter Five "Fight To The Finish". As both sides meet on the
battlefield, Prez immediately notices the size of his opponent, and knows
he is not Gregor. Eagle Free tells him not to waiver, and the combat
begins. Prez takes a beating but, as the brutish Minuteman moves in for
the kill, the Prez lashes out with a last desperate blow and stuns his
opponent. Prez is so worked up that Eagle Free has to intervene and stop
him from killing his enemy. Gregor refuses to surrender, and orders his
men to charge. Because the Army is under orders not to fire, the Minutemen
break through the defense lines and head towards the Pentagon. Prez has no
choice but to order General Patting to call out his forces. In the middle
to the bloodshed, Prez orders the soldiers to stop. Gregor captures Prez,
but suddenly Sergeant Hood turns on his General, quickly ending the
battle. Eagle Free informs the President that Sergeant Hood is one of his
F.B.I. infiltrators.

The next day, Prez addresses the combined houses of Congress. He tells
them that he has passed from a callow youth to a mature man, and has
learned from this tragedy that force cannot be met with cool phrases,
love, or flowers. The older Congressmen finally become accepting of the
new President, while the younger ones call him a traitor and warmonger.
Prez tells them all that it is time to bind up the nation's wounds. Later,
at the White House, Prez and Eagle Free wonder just who the assassin
really is.

Text Page "Prez-idential Press Conference". Prez answers some questions
posed by members of the press.

"Vampire In The White House". Prez and Eagle Free are in the Republic
of Moravia. They are being thanked by it's government and people for the
U.S. aid that has enabled them to build a new canal with which they can
irrigate their crops. The President can't help but hold his nose at an
offensive odor. The government officials apologize, stating that it is a
custom that they wear chains of garlic around their necks. As they leave
in the President's superjet, The Freebee, Prez and Eagle Free note a dark
cloud over the land next to Moravia. Later, back at the White House, Prez
assures the delegation from the People's Republic of China that the U.S.
has no plans to take over Moravia.

That night, on the banks of the Potomac, Eagle Free is awakened by the
sound of flapping wings. He and his monkey friend, Ibsen, investigate.
Eagle Free sees a giant bat approaching the White House, and rushes to the
President's bedroom to wake him. They and the military head to the roof,
where a bat-shaped helicopter lands. The door of the Transylvania Airlines
copter opens, revealing a wolf wearing a suit and carrying a small
coffin-like briefcase! The soldiers attack the creature and struggle
through the early hours, until the sun rises. The werewolf transforms into
a diplomat, who has come for a summit meeting with the President. He
introduces himself as Wolfman, ambassador from Transylvania. Ambassador
Wolfman tells the President that Transylvania borders on Moravia, and the
U.S. has caused great distress for his people.

Later, in the President's study, the ambassador explains that the canal
that they built in Moravia has drained Transylvania's lakes and
reservoirs. They demand that it be destroyed, but Prez refuses. Given this
response, the ambassador then states that he has been instructed to
declare a state of war between Transylvania and the U.S., on orders of his
royal highness Count Dracula the First. After the ambassador leaves, Prez
and Eagle Free comment that Dracula was born 350 years ago, and died with
a stake in his heart! Neither of the men notice that the ambassador has
left his coffin-shaped briefcase behind.

Chapter 2 "Wheeling Death". Prez calls an emergency meeting of his
cabinet. He states that it seems they are at war with a country they can't
even find. Eagle Free concludes that it must be under the dark cloud next
to Moravia. One of his men brings in an ancient book from the Library of
Congress which claims that Transylvania is a land of vampires. Later that
night, in the President's study, the ambassador's coffin-shaped briefcase
opens. A crippled Count Dracula, who has had both his legs amputated,
crawls out and wheels himself down to the President's bedroom on a dolly.
Just as Dracula is about to turn Prez into one of the living dead, Eagle
Free bursts in screaming for the President to awaken. Eagle Free pushes
Dracula off of the bed, stating that he suddenly realized that the strange
suitcase was a coffin, and that Wolfman had left it behind. The vampire
tells them that they will not stop him. Seven times he has been stabbed
through the heart, and seven times he has risen from the grave. He has
been tormented, and crippled, but there is still enough left to destroy
them both. Dracula attacks them, but Eagle Free pulls out a disk which
appears to bear the symbol of a Nazi swastika. The youth reveals that it
is the Indian hooked cross, and that the Great Spirit will strike him down
if he advances beyond the sign. Temporarily defeated, Dracula escapes into
the night.

Chapter Three "Suicide Mission". Count Dracula escapes in the
Transylvanian helicopter. The next morning, the ambassador from Moravia
arrives to report an urgent message from his government. The
Transylvanians have concocted a plot so horrible that if defies belief.
They plan on using their one plane to release a cargo of rabid bats over
the U.S. Capitol. Prez tells Eagle Free that they must wipe Transylvania
off the map before that plane is dispatched. Eagle Free says it will
require an act of Congress, so he arranges for a session of the House at
once. Later, when Prez asks the Congress for emergency powers, he is
surprised to learn that no one believes him. Some demand a federal
investigation of his administration, while others want him to resign.

Later, in Prez's office, Eagle Free suggests they launch a kamikaze
attack on the Transylvanian jet with the help of his birds. Eagle Free
takes Prez to his teepee headquarters, and the two hold a farewell
ceremony for the brave birds. A bat-shaped jet approaches Washington, and
the birds take flight. The swarm fly directly into the jet's intake,
damaging the engines. The jet struggles for altitude, but the engines
finally grind to a halt. The plane, with it's two occupants, Dracula and
Wolfman, plunges to a watery grave. Later, Prez and Eagle Free ponder
their future. Prez faces a federal court inquiry. Eagle Free is disturbed
by the fact that, if Transylvania surrenders, the U.S. will likely send
them money to build them up again.

Chapter 1 "Clyde The Pied Piper Ambassador From Hell!". During the
course of a White House dinner for King Ferdinad of Lamonica, the feast is
suddenly swarmed by bugs. Later, Prez, who is against pesticides, finds an
exterminator named Clyde Piper who claims to eliminate bugs without any
chemicals. Elsewhere, in the lower depths of the White House, in the
almost forgotten manuscript room, the custodians Balderman and Curlyman
listen in on the conversation using an electronic device.

Chapter 2 "The Exterminator". Clyde Piper arrives with his patented
Hellscope. He pulls out a flute and starts to play. He explains that the
proper pitch of his flute will activate the electronic tape in the
Hellbox. Suddenly, the room is filled with gruesome scenes from Hell
itself, projected from the strange machine. Out of every nook and cranny
the bugs emerge. They follow the strange piper through the White House,
out into the streets, and out to the countryside into the hills of
Virginia. The next morning, Clyde has dropped out of sight, but his bill
has already arrived. It is for $5,000,000, payable in 30 days!

Chapter 3 "Time To Pay Clyde Piper". Outraged by the excessive charge,
Prez refuses to pay. One month later, at the annual White House Easter
Party for the children of Washington, Eagle Free worries because the
exterminator's payment is one day past due. An hour later, Prez stands
before the Senate Committee on Bugging. The Senators are irate because the
King of Lamonica had found a tiny microphone in his food. They point out
that bugging is illegal, but Prez insists that the White House is not
bugged. Back at the party, the children are being entertained by the
Capitol Vaudeville Players. Clyde Piper appears, playing his flute. The
children see images of a castle on a lake of fire, and become entranced.
The Piper begins to lead the children away. Just then, the President
returns and sees what is transpiring. Prez, Eagle Free, and the military
guards attempt to chase the Piper, but are stopped by the Vaudeville
Players. When they are later interrogated, the Players claim to know
nothing of Clyde Piper.

Chapter 4 "Keepers Of The Bugs". Prez has sent for the two custodians,
Balderman and Curlyman, to talk to them about the bugs that the Senators
had questioned him about. They insist that they know nothing. Suddenly,
some Senators burst in and ask the President what he is doing about the
missing children. Prez informs them that the troops are making a thorough
search of the Virginia Hills. One of the Senators says that the parents of
the children are out there also, and they are armed and desperate. Just
then, a call comes in from the field. The parents are frantic and shooting
at everything that moves.

Minutes later, Prez and Eagle Free arrive at the scene. The crowd has
gathered at a cave opening; the Piper's music is coming from inside.
Suspicious, Prez carefully proceeds and safely detonates a booby-trap. He
reveals that the music was coming from a recorder. The custodians then
drive up and confess, explaining that they had planted tiny recording
devices in live insects and set them loose throughout the White House.
They had recorded conversations of diplomats, workers, and Congressmen.
They then play a recording of the Piper in his hideout, which reveals that
he is leading the children into Westfall Lake.

Prez and Eagle Free take a chopper toward the lake and see the Piper
leading rodents, insects, and the mesmerized children towards the water.
They land the chopper and attempt to head the Piper off, but they are
overwhelmed by the creatures. As the Piper wades into the water, Prez and
Eagle Free take the chopper over the lake. They jump from the craft,
leaving the throttle open. The chopper crashes into the lake, exploding
and igniting the bleeding fuel. The Piper, rodents, and insects are
incinerated in the blazing inferno, but the children stop at the water's
edge, shocked awake by the fiery scene. Later, Prez thanks the custodians
for their aid, but must insist on their resignations for breaking the law.

Linda Danvers watches Prez Rickard on the television, as he speaks at a
supermarket in Rosedale. She spots as assassin in the crowd and flies
there as Supergirl. She arrives just in time to save the President. As
Supergirl talks with Prez, a small boy asks him to fix his father's watch,
which had stopped when his father died in Vietnam. Prez fiddles with the
timepiece, fixing it in no time. Supergirl warns Prez to be careful and
departs.

The President heads back to the White House but, on the way back, sees
a sign for an auction of rare antique clocks. He can't resist, and
instructs his driver to go to the auction site. Prez searches for a clock
that doesn't work, so that he might fix it, and he finally locates one.
Just as he is about to examine it, Supergirl, who had been keeping an eye
on the President, swoops in and snatches it away. She flies off and the
clock detonates safely outside. Supergirl returns and points out that
there is a pattern in these attempts. She says that the plotters seem to
know the President's route.

Television crews arrive and begin filming Prez and his guardian angel.
Elsewhere, watching from his secret lab, is the mastermind of the
assassination attempts. He observes as Supergirl flies off to the White
House with the President. Prez comments that the plotters would never have
expected the switch in plans. The mastermind tells his aide, a witch named
Hepzibah, that Supergirl doesn't realize that the first two attempts were
merely bait, and that the real assassin will be Supergirl herself.
Hepzibah performs her evil magic on a Supergirl voodoo doll, commanding
the heroine to kill the President. The mastermind boasts that he gets a
million a contract by combining black magic with the wizardry of science.
He then turns to his two lab assistants and instructs them to use radar to
focus their large surgical laser probe on Supergirl. This radar-cranial
cannon is designed to inflame the aggressive portion of the brain.

Supergirl suddenly feels the urge to kill the President. She lands on a
high skyscraper and begins threatening him. Jets arrive and fire at
Supergirl, but she just flies off with the President. High over a nearby
river, Supergirl appears to drop him to his death! Shortly afterward, at
the mastermind's hideout, the radar-cranial cannon is suddenly melted.
Supergirl arrives, having tracked the radar beam back to the weapon. Soon,
the police arrive and take the plotters away, but not before the
mastermind gloats that at least she failed to stop him from killing the
President.

Later, Prez appears on the television, revealing that Supergirl had
flown him to the safety of the Fortress of Solitude, while using a plastic
replica of him to deceive the gang. Supergirl comments that all she has
from the experience is a slight headache.

Mikel MidnightMember

posted June 08, 2002 11:24 AM

Outpost2, this is immensily helpful. May I incorporate the Isis history
into the Earth-S timeline?

outpost2Member

posted June 08, 2002 12:57 PM

Sure, Mikel, be my guest.

There is other Egyptian timeline info in her comic book series, which
wasn't part of her origin, that you might also find useful. I'll pull out
the issues again and summarize it for you.

outpost2Member

posted June 08, 2002 10:13 PM

SCARAB

ISIS #1 (Oct-Nov 1976)

Scarab was an evil magician that terrorized Egypt 3000 years ago. He
was captured and imprisoned in a pyramid, where it was believed he would
remain forever. In the late 20th century, archeologists moved the pyramid,
enabling the magician to escape. The heroine known as Isis was able to
trick Scarab in becoming trapped in the pyramid once again. This time his
imprisonment would be permanent.

outpost2Member

posted June 08, 2002 10:15 PM

ATEN, SUPREME GOD OF THE SUN

ISIS #5 (June-July 1977)

By the mid 14th century B.C., under the reign of Amenhotep IV, the
worship of the gods of Egypt had waned. This led the gods to turn their
attentions elsewhere, leaving the people to follow their own paths. It was
at this time that the spacecraft of an alien named Aten was damaged and
forced to land on Egypt's sands. All feared him save for the brave king.
Amenhotep showed Aten his civilization and evidence of his gods. But Aten
saw no sign of the gods themselves. He observed that they had been there,
then left, leaving the people to dry up and die. Aten believed he was
their salvation. Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten in the alien's
honor. He and his wife, Queen Nofretete, proclaimed Aten their new god --
and his fiery ship the Chariot of the Sun. The people still believed in
the old gods, but Akhenaten, Nofretete, and Aten maintained the new way.
The alien taught them much, and they taught him about the power of the
ancient gods and their pyramids.

Aten remained in Egypt for nearly two decades, until Akhenaten died.
The alien believed that the people would soon revolt in favor of the old
gods. Aten knew it was time to leave, but before he did, he planted a
signal device to warn him if the gods ever did return. He returned to his
home planet, but was surprised when the High Council banished him for
interfering with the development of a primitive world. Remembering the
pyramids, from which the Egyptian gods had derived their power, Aten
crossed the void back to Earth to seek revenge on those in the Council. He
remained in orbit around the planet, until such a time as one of the gods
again accessed the power of the pyramids.

It wasn't until the late 20th century that the reincarnated goddess
Isis did just that. Aten attempted to wrest control of the mystical
pyramid from Isis. She had no choice but to destroy the pyramid, which
Aten believed was the sole source of her power. So moved was he that she
would sacrifice her own power to stop him, that he repented and vowed to
travel the stars doing penance for his sins. After Aten left Earth, Isis
used her magic to restore the pyramid to it's original state.

Mikel MidnightMember

posted June 09, 2002 02:57 PM

Thank you Outpost2, that is invaluable information. I have added it to the
timeline.

outpost2Member

posted June 10, 2002 03:52 PM

Mikel,
For everyone's benefit, what was the link again?

XanadudeMember

posted June 12, 2002 04:08 PM

link here:
http://blaklion.best.vwh.net/comics.html

Koppy McFadMember

posted June 15, 2002 06:13 AM

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. stood for The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement
Reserves. Don't try to hard to figure the name out. They were a
combination international military-police-counterintelligence force. They
fought the Red Chinese in some issues, so I guess they only included
Western-leaning countries, hence the term "Higher United Nations", as
opposed to the typical United Nations which lets Sudan and Iran sit on the
human rights council.

The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents appeard in a series of books put out by magazine
publisher, Tower, in the mid-1960s that grabbed the fans' attention
because of the strong art, the clever writing, and the unique nature of the
characters' abilities and the context in which they operated. The comics
were abruptly cancelled, but many still fondly remember them.

The story begins with a raid on the laboratory of brilliant scientist
Emil Jennings by an evil organization led by a mysterious Warlord.
Jennings is killed and his lab destroyed, but three inventions survive and
they form the core of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, the super-powered enforcers
of this organization.

the first three members were the following:

1. DYNAMO
Real name: Leonard Brown
He was given one of Jenning's
inventions, a belt of power. When activated, it changed his molecular
structure, making him the strength and toughness of steel. But if he kept
the belt on for more than 30 minutes, it would drain his strength and he
would weaken.

Dynamo was the most prominent of the agents. He was a down-to-earth guy
who had trouble with women and did not have a razor wit like so many other
heroes. But he was tough and courageous, even when his belt was off.

2. NOMAN
or as most people write it, "NoMan"
Real name: Anthony Dunn
The most unique of the agents. Dunn was a brilliant, elderly,
infirm scientist who worked with Jennings. He figured out a way to
transplant his mind from his withered body to a blue-skinned android body.
Moreover, he could switch minds from one android body to another. If one
body was destroyed, he just shifted to another. He could sacrifice his
"bodies" with impunity and instead of physically travelling from one place
to another, he could just switch his mind to a convenient body in that
area.

Aside from his android bodies, Dunn was given the cloak of
invisibility, developed by Jennings. This allowed him to become invisible
for 10 minutes.

Eventually, they developed human-looking bodies for NoMan as well. His
stories were imaginative, making good use of his mind-switching abilities.

3. MENTHOR
Real name: John Janus
After passing a battery of
physical and intellectual tests, Janus is chosen as the recipient of the
third invention of Prof. Jennings: a helmet that bestows mental powers on
its wearer. The trick was, Janus was a double-agent, working secretly for
the Warlord. However, when he put on the helmet and activated its powers,
he suddenly found himself turned into a good guy. He would be ready to
betray T.H.U.N.D.E.R. but upon activating the helmet, he would become a loyal
agent and help the organization against the Warlord instead.

He had telepathy, a form of telekinesis, and the ability to absorb the
mental energies of others. Eventually, Menthor reformed for real, only to
be killed during a mission. This was one of the first permanent deaths of
a superhero ever.

In the 1980s, during a short-lived revival of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, a
new, female Menthor was introduced.

There was also a team of non-powered commandoes called "the T.H.U.N.D.E.R.
Squad", led by Medal of Honor winner Guy Gilbert. When some bad guys
used a gas on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. that slowed them down, Gilbert donned a special
suit that sped up his body a hundredfold, thus becoming the fourth
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent

4. LIGHTNING
Real name: Guy Gilbert
Gilbert's powers had a
tragic cost. Everytime he used them, he would age faster. But he was too
noble to give the suit up, since he knew some other member of his squad
would probably don it to take his place.

Compared to the Flash and Impulse, Lightning was not that fast, making
him more realistic a speedster. No outrunning ray beams. In one story, he
had his butt handed to him by an evil speedster who was so fast, Gilbert
could barely see him.

5. RAVEN
Real name: Craig Lawson
He was brought into T.H.U.N.D.E.R. to use a special flight suit with underarm
winglets. In the short-lived 1980s revival, Raven got ray-blasters on the back
of his gloves that he could use as "laser talons", sort of live Wolverine's
claws.

Aside from the agents and the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad, the organization also
had a small army of troops/policemen with space-age aircraft and equipment,
much like S.H.I.E.L.D..

Koppy McFadMember

posted June 25, 2002 03:32 AM

Frankly, I am a bit disappointed to see how little excitement the
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives is generating, at least here on the DC
boards.

Guess the fans of this classic series have all moved on.

Ah, if only they had their own short-lived cartoon in the 80s...

On another topic...

I asked elsewhere on this board if anyone could provide any info on the
old MLJ character, the Black Witch, but I got no response, so I will
repeat it here.

I know that her Impact comics version shows her as an evil sorceress,
using her powers for crime, but it also mentions that a previous Black
Witch was a hero.

I get the impression the original MLJ Black Witch was a pretty mean
character, something like their Madam Satan. But I know nothing about her.

XanadudeMember

posted July 05, 2002 05:24 PM

"Zow! What's THAT?" the pretty co-ed yelped.

"Not WHAT," said Linda Danvers, "Who?"

And with that, comic fans were introduced to
Nasthalthia, better known as Nasty, the niece of Lex Luthor.

ADVENTURE COMICS had been Supergirl's home title for several years, and
Kara's adventures were typical of the Super titles of the time - typical
Supergirl stories of the time had lots of "twist" endings, lots of aliens,
and lots of mild college adventures on the campus of Stanhope College for
our favorite Girl of Steel.

And then came Mike Sekowsky.

Mr. Sekowsky had recently successfully revamped Wonder Woman, DC's top
female character. Now he was given a shot at DC's other female star. With
ADVENTURE #497, Sekowsky's revamp of Supergirl was started. In the issue's
main story "Now...Comes Zond", Supergirl teamed up with the non-superpowered
martial artist Diana Prince and Morgana, the manic-depressive witch who
previously appeared in Wonder Woman. In it, Supergirl's costume is
shredded (through magic), and she receives a new costume from Diana
Prince's boutique. The issue's back-up story, "Meet Nasty," introduced us
to a new character and villainess for Supergirl: Nasty.

In "a house not far away from the campus of Stanhope College..we find our
mysterious friend from page one talking an old enemy of Supergirl -- Lex
Luthor". Luthor, and his raven haired nymphet niece Nasthalthia (pronounced
Nas-THAL-thee-uh) plot to have Nasty infiltrate the campus of Stanhope to
discover Supergirl's secret ID. Once it is uncovered, Luthor plans to
catch Supergirl off-guard and shoot her with Kryptonite tipped bullets.

"First HER - then I have plans for those other Super-Freaks! Then - the
world is MINE!" Luthor crowed.

"OURS, Uncle, OURS!" Nasty cooed.

(On that note, I want to mention how extremely CREEPY this first page is.
Nasty is established as Luthor's niece, but the sexual tension between
them in palpable. Check out how Nasty is posed throughout if you get the
chance.)

Nasty quickly puts a gang together ("Nasty's Nasties") to
terrorize the campus and draw Supergirl out of hiding. The gang frightens
pedestrians with their motorbikes, steals a student's watch, and generally
make life hell for the Stanhope students. Supergirl uses her superhearing
to listen in on a conversation of Nasty's and learns of the link between
Nasty and Luthor, and where Luthor's latest lair is. She flies straight
there and captures Luthor without incident (in two panels - this will be
important in a moment), then races off to confront Nasty and her gang at
the local amusement park. Supergirl quickly captures Nasty and her gang
(in four pages. - it was harder for Supergirl to capture Nasty than to
capture Luthor. Think about it.), who end up in pool of water, "but
perhaps Supergirl would have done well to look back, for then her super
hearing would have overheard 'I understand you, Supergirl! Next time, you
won't be so lucky! And I promise you, there WILL be a next time.'"

Nasty took a few issues off (and it's a good thing too - she
missed having to appear in Adventure #400, one of the most continuity
mistake laden comics EVER) and her next appearance wasn't even a real one.

In ADVENTURE #401's "The Frightened Supergirl," Supergirl is
drugged by Bumphy (one of Nasty's Nasties) which causes Supergirl to be
deathly afraid of EVERYTHING. Supergirl eventually becomes so addled that
she accepts Nasty as her only friend. Nasty takes her back to Luthor's
hideout, where she is tortured by mice and a toy car. Supergirl eventually
becomes so afraid that lashes out wisely and destroys everything in site,
until she becomes so frightened that she...

Wakes up. It was all a dream of Linda (Supergirl) Danvers.

The oddity of this issue (and any comic that Mike Sekowsky wrote was FILLED
with wonderful oddities) was the Nasty narrated the tale up until Linda woke
up, but it turns out Linda dreamed it all.

In this issue's letter column, it was explained that Luthor has
an older sister (his younger sister had already been introduced, Lena
Thorul Colby) - "one who married a European gentleman and has been living
abroad. Lena Colby is unaware of this sister's existence because her
parents had disapproved of their elder daughter's early marriage, and had
no communication with her when they were killed in an accident. So Lena
knows nothing of her niece, Nasty, or of her brother, Lex." We never met
Nasty's parents in an actual story, though. We also never learned Nasty's
last name. One letter writer suggested "Nemsis", as in a variation of the
word nemesis. The writers never incorporated THAT into the story either
(thank G-d). Throughout the entire series she was referred to only as
Nasthalthia or Nasty.

And with that, Nasty again took another couple of
issues off. While she was gone, Linda was slipped a pill by a scientist
that caused her powers to fade and disappear at odd intervals. Supergirl
would never know when her powers would suddenly disappear, so several
Kandorian scientists allow her to compensate for her loss with rocket
boots and an exo-skeleta-cyborg. These issues also introduced the other
recurring villainess of the series, Starfire, a female crime boss who
seemed suspiciously like WW's Dr. Cyber, another Sekowsky creation.

Nasty returned with a bang in Adventure #406's "Suspicion".
The day had finally arrived and Linda Danvers (and presumably Nasthalthia)
graduated from Stanhope College. The day was marred, however, by
protestors, and the scheduled speaker, Supergirl, was unable to go on.
Supergirl rushed back to her dorm to change back to Linda to meet her
adoptive parents.

"Supergirl going into Linda Danvers' room? I'll hang
around a bit, I think," Nasty thought as she lurked around Linda's dorm.
Seconds later, Linda strolled out of the room. Nasty was thrilled! She had
discovered the secret - Linda Danvers was Supergirl. Now she just had to
have concrete proof.

The protests were in full force on campus that day
(a nice, comic piece had three protestors holding signs - "Free Rocco
Caridi", "Who's Rocco Caridi?", and "Who Cares - Free Him!") and the
graduates are unable to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas.
Linda enjoys a nice evening with her adoptive parents, then heads to
Metropolis to begin a new life. "Linda Danvers or Supergirl," Nasty
thinks, "I'm going to stick to you like a leech from now on."
Unfortunately, there are no job opening in Metropolis at the moment, so
Linda calls her cousin Clark from a phone booth. In the adjacent phone
booth Nasty listens in as Clark informs Linda about two job openings at
KSF-TV, Galaxy Broadcasting's San Francisco affiliate. Clark puts in a
good word for Linda, while Nasty calls her uncle to arrange a
cross-country trip.

Linda gets the job as a camera operator and meets
her coworker Johnny Drew (the brown headed one) and boss Geoffrey Anderson
(red haired and mustachioed). Linda was surprised to learn that the other
camera operator position had been filled by her old college "chum,"
Nasty.. "You remember those wonderful days at Stanhope and all the fun we
had together, Linda? I know we'll get along great." Linda held her tongue,
something she was going to do quite a bit in the days (and issues) to
come. Nasty made a mental note that Linda seemed to have a crush on Geoff,
and, in her words, "a girl in love makes mistakes".

Later, a fire breaks out and the crew rush to film it. Linda changes to
Supergirl, but her powers pick that moment to fade. Linda is severely burned
and injured, but the paramedics arrive and strap her to a gurney to take her
to the hospital. Nasty, Geoff, and Johnny express concern, but Nasty is
secretly happy, as Linda will be revealed when her powers return and her burns
heal super quickly. Luckily (in ADVENTURE #407's "Suspicion Confirmed") the
hospital is so crowded that Linda is able to run away without being noticed.
Nasty noticed that Linda was back to normal the next day. The crew
eventually discovered the person behind the fires and other problems plaguing
the city (it was Dr. Cyber... whoops... I mean Starfire and the scientist who
took away Supergirl's powers). Nasty continued to suspect Linda, but,
since she had no concrete proof, couldn't proceed any further.

And with that, Nasty's role in the series was cemented. She'd show up,
needle Linda at the office, state her suspicions, and try to catch Linda in
the act of changing to Supergirl. Linda summed her relationship to Nasty by
telling Johnny that "Oh, it's just a jealousy thing from our school days at
Stanhope..." Nasty missed Sekowsky's last two issues, ADVENTURE's #408 and
409, although Linda DID think about how nice it was that she wasn't
around.

One of the nice things about Sekowsky's run was that broke all
the molds of a typical Supergirl story. Supergirl FINALLY graduated
college, moved to a real US city, had her powers lessened, and finally,
received a complete closet full of different costumes, many of which were
designed by the fans.

In ADVENTURE #410, Sekowsky's free-wheeling, rather surrealistic style gave
way to the more solid team of John Albano
writing and Bob Oskner pencilling. The issue opens with Nasty trying to
convince Linda to become her roommate. Nasty, of course, had an ulterior
motive - to constantly spy on Linda. Suddenly, giant bird creatures attack
the man in the next apartment. Linda sneaks out, switches to Supergirl,
fights the creatures. The fight continues onto the streets, and, of
course, Supergirl wins. She turns back to Linda, returns to the apartment
to find Nasty taking care of the man, who had been knocked unconscious. Nasty
takes credit for saving him, so he gratefully asks her out, then
infuriates her by asking Linda to join them. On the "Date" Mike Merrick
takes a shine to Linda and dances with her much to Nasty's dismay. Nasty
leaves the club and the story. Good thing, too, since soon after Mike and
Linda were abducted by the evil bird creatures and Mike turns out to be a
criminal (who inadvertently learns Linda's secret). ("The Nature of the
Beast") Linda may not have wanted Nasty for a roommate, but she gained one
(for a few issues at least) in the form of a young superpowered alien
named Judy. (410's backup story "The Ruler Without a Planet")

Nasty appears on the first page on ADVENTURE #411 ("The Alien Among Us")
attempting to follow Linda on a job in order to expose her identity. Geoff
gives her some more typing to do (oh I love the 60s) so she can't go. In
#412 (The Battle for Survival") Nasty shows a somewhat compassionate side
- while downtown, she witnesses Supergirl stealing from an art gallery!
She phones KSF-TV and speaks to Linda - but wait! Isn't Linda Supergirl?
Now Nasty's really confused! Suddenly strange alien bugs start to attack a
policeman and Nasty thinks "Great Scott! What if those strange insects are
poisonous..." (Well, I said "somewhat compassionate.") The KSF-TV crew arrives
and starts to film. Another Supergirl robbery is reported across town,
Linda is sent to investigate while Nasty is ordered to stay. And she stays
out of the rest of the story. (The OTHER Supergirl is an alien trying to
attract the real Supergirl so as to get her help.)

Nasty is absent until ADVENTURE #418's "The Face of the Dragon," where she
launches one of her most ambitious plans. Nasty hires private eye Johnny
Double. While in his office, Nasty explains that someone is trying to kill her
and shots riddle Double's office from across the street. Nasty says she thinks
she knows who the sniper is -Linda Danvers! Johnny Double accepts the job of
trailing Linda. Nasty, of course, staged the entire incident. At issues
end (and after an encounter between Supergirl and Dr. Tzin-tzin in San
Francisco's Chinatown), Johnny tells Nasty that he KNOWS that she arranged
the sniper attack and that Nasty and Linda work together. He goes on to
say what a decent "chick" Linda is. Nasty storms out, adding Double to her
mental s-list. And, since Nasty was involved in the story, she did what
she always did in such cases - she takes a few issues off.

Nasty returned for Supergirl's final story in Adventure before graduating
to her own title. Fittingly enough, she is also responsible for the next phase
in Supergirl's life.

In ADVENTURE #424's "Crypt of the Frozen Graves,"
Linda is investigating the local crime syndicate. She's also becoming more
frustrated in her job, as Geoff tells her "You may not be the best camera
operator we have around here, but these freelance news articles you've
been writing are great!" Nasty, however, thinks "So.. Danvers has FINALLY
found a way to get back on Geoff's good side! She's after the same
promotion I want! But I think I know a way I can bust up this new career
of hers and get her out of the running!" She informs the mob about Linda's
information source, who is murdered. Linda is heart broken, so, of course,
Nasty decided to rub it in:

"Trying to figure some way you can get out of working today."

Linda Danvers had had enough. "That's it! Just lay
off, fat mouth! I'm not ABOUT to take any flak from you! Not today!"

"You really ARE in a bad mood, aren't you?" Nasty smirked.
"Could it be that the source of your information for you articles has been
eliminated?"

"YOU had something to do with Bruce getting killed? You
told the syndicate that Bruce was the informer!" Linda lunged at Nasty.
"You've gone too far this time!"

"Johnny! Geoff! Help me! She's gone crazy!"

What's happening, Linda thought as she was pulled away by her
boss. I can't even control my emotions anymore.

Unfortunately for catfight fans, the syndicate chose that moment to bust in
and capture the entire KSF-TV crew. Supergirl eventually discovers that the
syndicate was freezing bodies and expelling them into space, so that there
were no bodies of syndicate victims on Earth. On the story's last page, Linda
goes to her office and is late again. Geoff offers her an assignment, but
Linda has had enough.

"Give it to Nasty! You've always preferred her work to
mine, anyway! Meanwhile, I've got something for you - a little notice
stating that I quit as of right now! If you want me to stay the
traditional two weeks -FORGET IT!! I'm leaving now!"

"Now wait a minute! You CAN'T just..."

"Oh yes I can!" Linda cut her boss short. "I'm
sick of the whole rotten news business! My articles and the articles of
your favorite camera operator cost a man his life! That's enough for me!
I've got better things to do with my life than stay in a business that
exploits people!"

Linda slammed the door on one phase of her life and
set out to begin a new one.

Personally, I really like the character of Nasty. She's not a typical
supporting character and is highly entertaining. She wasn't overexposed, but
she wasn't used to her potential either.

With the current resurgence in Silver Age nostalgia in current
stories, I think it'd be great if Nasty came back. Of course, if the name
"Nasty" seems too silly, she could be called "Nasthalthia" exclusively with
"Thia" as a nickname Instead of Luthor's niece (the current Luthor has no
siblings.), she could be brought back as one of Lex's step-children. Lex
has been married seven or eight times, so it's highly likely that at least
one of those women had prior children. Nasty could have worshipped her
step-father and is devastated when her mom divorces him. To tie her into
Supergirl, she could even be the daughter of Liz Persky, who was
Supergirl's mentor for a time. Instead of turning out like her
philanthropic mother, she could be modeling herself after Lex, especially
now that he's President. I think it could work.

XanadudeMember

posted July 05, 2002 06:34 PM

Sorry, that version left off several appearances I added in later drafts:

Nasty appeared on the first page of ADVENTURE #411 ("The Alien Among
Us"), attempting to follow Linda on a job assignment in order to expose her
identity. Geoff gives her some more typing to do (God, how I love the
60s), so's she's unable to leave.

In ADVENTURE #422, Nasty pops up to call Linda a "goof up" and to ask
Geoff out to lunch.

And, lastly, Nasty actually accomplishes what scores of other villains
weren't able to do -- relegate Kara to second stringer status for over
twenty years. After leaving ADVENTURE, Supergirl graduated to her own
title, which lasted only ten issues (read them and you'll know why -- they
have a slightly goofy Prez-like charm to them, but overall the series is
pretty weak), then moved to SUPERMAN FAMILY, where she had short confusing
stories for several years. Then, of course, came THE DARING NEW ADVENTURES
OF SUPERGIRL (or, as it was known to some, "None of the Above"). It wasn't
until Peter David's reinterpretation of the character that Supergirl
achieved respectable sales figures and critical acclaim again.

XanadudeMember

posted July 09, 2002 05:32 PM

With Wild Dog coming back in the JSA, anyone have any info on him?

Hellst0neMember

posted July 13, 2002 06:26 AM

God, I SO want to contribute more here. I have started writing bios on the
Terrific Whatzit, Sponge Man, and the heroes of Angor. But I never seem to
find the time to finish it.

Susan King is a reporter working for a television station which
services the Quad Cities, four Midwestern cities in Illinois and Iowa. She
is covering the official opening of River City Center, the new community
activity center that promises to revitalize downtown Davenport. She
interviews Raymond E. Newell, who describes himself as the public
relations secretary of the Committee for Social Change. He states that his
organization believes society has decayed to where the only solution is to
level the existing institutions and structures before starting anew. He
demonstrates this by triggering the destruction of the Center. He and his
terrorists then take King hostage and force her crew to provide immediate
live coverage. Among the viewers are police lieutenant Andy Flint,
reporter Lou Godder, mechanic Jack Wheeler, and the Internal Security
Agency's Graham Gault. While the interview continues on, the masked
vigilante called Wild Dog drives his pick-up truck "Rover" through the
police barricade and into the theater from which the terrorists are
broadcasting. One-by-one, he shoots the terrorists, and ultimately
succeeds in rescuing the TV crew. As they exit the building, the police
order Wild Dog to drop his weapon. The vigilante takes Susan King hostage
and drives away to safety, leaving King on the side of the road.

WILD DOG #2 (Oct 1987)
' Chapter Two: Blowed Up Real Good! '

Susan King's news director instructs her to run with the Wild Dog
story. She vows to find out who this mysterious vigilante really is.
Graham Gault visits his old friend Andy Flint, then Jack Wheeler. They,
along with Lou Godder, played college football together. Later, a man and
woman murder the distinguished Dr. Theodore Mensa, professor of philosophy
at State University. The man takes Mensa's place as keynote speaker at the
first Honor Students' Congress, which consists of junior high students
from four states. He reveals that he is an impostor and that he has rigged
himself as a human bomb. Other terrorists join him, taking hostage an
estimated 1,000 students and teachers. Wild Dog arrives and takes out all
the terrorists in the building, then carries the unconscious impostor into
a field. The clever vigilante tricks the rest of the impostor's terrorist
friends into coming to his aid. Wild Dog detonates the impostor's
explosives, killing them all.

WILD DOG #3 (Nov 1987)
' Chapter Three: "Rollin' On The River" '

Graham Gault invites his three friends, all former members of State
University's Red Dogs football team, to take a riverboat to Arsenal
Island. He then has them all open gifts. As they pull out pieces of Wild
Dog's uniform, Gault reveals that he believes one of them is the
vigilante. He remarks that Wild Dog is a well-trained athlete whose
arsenal includes lightweight body armor, stun gloves, and a jati
submachine gun. Gault tells them that he wishes to speak privately with
Wild Dog. Lou Godder is a suspect because he lost his wife to plane
terrorists three years earlier. Lt. Andy Flint's hard-nosed anti-crime
attitudes are well-known. As a Marine, an unarmed Jack Wheeler stood guard
in Beirut, as his comrades-in-arms were blown up. Gault believes that the
Committee for Social Change is in the area of the Quad Cities because they
intend on attacking Arsenal Island, home of the largest of the nation's
four arsenals under AMCCOM. Gault spots Susan King and tells her to back
off on revealing Wild Dog's secret identity. Shortly afterward, the
terrorists attack as Gault had expected. Wild Dog appears and kills them
all. A photo is taken of Wild Dog in action.

WILD DOG #4 (Dec 1987)
' Chapter Four: I Am Wild Dog '

Susan King tells Andy Flint that she has figured out who Wild Dog is,
but wants to keep the story going for the sake of her own career. Flint
sees Graham Gault first, and is convinced that he is not the vigilante. He
speaks with Lou Godder next, informing him that King believes that he is
Wild Dog ('Godder' is 'Red Dog' spelled backwards). Godder believes Jack
Wheeler is the one. Flint and Godder think back to Wheeler's past.

Wheeler was a terrific athlete, and only a knee injury during one of
their college football games cut his football career short. He lost his
scholarship and was forced to drop out of school. The only way he could
afford to finish college was by enlisting in the Marines. He was stationed
in Beirut, where terrorists attacked and killed all of his fellow
soldiers. After his tour ended, Wheeler returned home and took a job as an
auto mechanic. While taking night classes at State University, he met a
woman named Claire Smith. She is the reason that Flint and Godder suspect
Wheeler. Wheeler and Claire had fallen in love. She revealed to him that
her last name was a false one, but requested that he not ask about it
because it was too painful to discuss. Wheeler began to notice that a
number of accidents nearly claimed Claire's life. One day, as they were
kissing , a drive-by shooter killed her.

Flint soon discovered that Claire was the daughter of Carmonti, the
Chicago godfather. There had been a bloody mob purge the previous year,
and Carmonti's rivals, the Vespucci family, couldn't afford to let Claire
live because she might know something about their business. Claire was the
godfather's only heir, and Wheeler was shocked to learn that he was her
sole beneficiary. Wheeler was furious that he was made a millionaire
through blood money. Later, Godder made an off-hand remark that he should
use the money to fight the mob, which gave Wheeler an idea. He built his
own auto repair shop, and secretly created the identity of Wild Dog. Soon
after, Wild Dog attacked and killed Carmine and Carlo Vespucci, as well as
the assassin who had murdered Claire.

Flint then looks at a photo taken at Arsenal Island, and is convinced
that their suspicions are correct. Flint soon arrives at Wheeler's house.
He shows the photo to Wheeler, noting that he was the only one of the four
at Arsenal Island who wore combat boots like Wild Dog. Wheeler admits that
Flint is correct, but surprises his friend by asking him to help out as
his police contact. At that moment, they hear a news report of another
terrorist action at city hall.

ACTION COMICS WEEKLY #601 (1988) - 609 (1988)
' Moral Stand '

Lt. Andy Flint forces Jack Wheeler to give up being Wild Dog, but after
three months he is forced to ask for Wild Dog's help against the forces of
B. Lyle Layman and the National Legion of Morality. Lou Godder reveals to
Wheeler that he knows of his exploits as Wild Dog.

Wild Dog hunts a serial killer called the Night Slasher. A young fan of
Wild Dog's named Danny Crown decides to become his hero's sidekick,
against Wild Dog's wishes. Reporter Susan King dubs the child "Wild Pup".
Danny slips into Wild Dog's truck and learns the vigilante's secret. When
Wild Pup later tries to help Wild Dog, he is accidentally stabbed by the
Night Slasher. Soon afterward, the Slasher, who is actually an
ex-prostitute who had been hunting her former clients, arrives at the
hospital and sits with Danny until the police come to arrest her.

Wild Dog battles drug dealers. He tracks the drugs to Chicago
businessmen, whom he then slaughters without mercy. Flint and Godder tell
Wheeler that he must end his career as Wild Dog, or else they'll come
forward with everything they know.

WILD DOG SPECIAL #1 (1989)
' Dog Catcher '

It is three months since Wild Dog's slaughter of the Chicago mobsters.
Gault figures out that Wheeler is Wild Dog and approaches him with an
offer to aid in national security, both domestic and foreign. He promises
a presidential pardon if ever he's caught. Wheeler agrees and Wild Dog
returns. Flint and Godder are angry that Wheeler has resumed his vigilante
career, but Gault informs them that it was his idea, and that Wheeler is
now part of covert government service. The new ruling head of the mob, Don
Lupo, hires a freelancer called "the Catcher", to capture Wild Dog. The
Catcher uses Susan King to figure out Wild Dog's secret identity, then
kidnaps Flint in order to lure the vigilante into his trap. He drops off
his captives to the mob, then leaves them to their fate. Wild Dog escapes
and kills the mobsters.

KentuckyDaveNew Member

posted July 20, 2002 08:19 PM

Doing my bit to keep the thread going here!

Okay, I found a very detailed page that goes through the pre-Crisis and
post-Crisis histories of Nubia, the black Wonder Woman! I'll leave it up
to someone else to sum it up for the board though! Anyway, go here:

members.aol.com/_ht_a/linastrick/nubia1.html

Hooray for obscure characters!

MindseyeMember

posted July 20, 2002 10:13 PM

Quick question. Are all of these "character definitions" going to be
collected at some point, either here in the message boards or on a web site
or someplace?

And I'll be happy to tackle Black Thorn. Look for the post in the next
few days.

outpost2Member

posted July 21, 2002 01:58 AM

The previous posts are collected at
www.infiniteearths.org/dcu/msgboards .
I strip out most of the unnecessary text to reduce file size, but otherwise all
the relevant stuff is there.

SargonNew Member

posted July 21, 2002 04:10 AM

Hey this is really great stuff. Glad that I found it.
I was just wondering if anyone has tackled the Hyper-Family from SUPERBOY #144
yet. And what about Captain Incredible?

Enda80Member

posted July 22, 2002 08:29 PM

Frankenstein in the DCU

I received a book called The Frankenstein Catalog that has helped me
track DC's Frankenstein stories, and this represents what I came up with:

Unexpected #189 Jan-Feb 1979; Gag.

Unexpected #191 May-Jun 1979; Doctor Henry Frankenstein brings a
graverobber back as a monster, but later decides to replace the head.

Unexpected #199 June 1980; gag.

Weird Mystery Tales #8 Nov 1973; A director displeased with a phony
monster gets led to a house where the real Frankenstein Monster kills him.

Additions to this cross-post were taken from the following thread:
"Frankenstein Family/Monster(s) in the DCU" http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum94/HTML/014705.html

Stately Wayne Manor
posted July 22, 2002 06:15 PM

Here's one that will mess with ya --
Apparently Kaluta did draw one more Spawn of Frankenstein story, but
for some reason it was either rejected or unused, so about 10 years later
he redrew some panels and added some other stuff here and there, and it
saw print in Marvel's Epic Illustrated magazine as "The Wanderer" or
something like that.

Stately Wayne Manor
posted July 22, 2002 06:18 PM

Oh yeah, and don't forget the Patchwork Man, who debuted in the
Wein/Wrightson SWAMP THING (#3, I believe) and later got a one-shot in
HOUSE OF SECRETS #140. Patchwork Man was pretty much a Frankenstein's monster
swipe slash homage.

Stately Wayne Manor
posted July 22, 2002 06:20 PM

Aah! I just remembered one more!
One of the faculty of Benedict Arnold High School was a Frankenstein
Monster, I don't remember what they called him.
What? You don't remember dear old BAHS? It was in the later issues of
THE ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE, #95-109, IIRC. Most of 'em also featured
the great Super Hip.

Old Dude
posted July 23, 2002 12:06 AM

A two-parter in JIMMY OLSEN during the Kirby reign had a miniature planet
whose culture was based on the Universal monster movies. There was a
Frankenstein Monster in it.

Stately Wayne Manor
posted July 23, 2002 12:10 AM

And speaking of the King (of Comics):
In one of his issues of THE DEMON, there was a huge Frankenstein
monster-looking creation who was being victimized by some creepy looking
doctor type. I think it was around issue #11 or 12, I forget.
Some of the Kirby hardcore will have to help me out on this one!

XanadudeMember

posted July 23, 2002 05:33 PM

Hey Obscuritors! You may be interested in another thread which deals with
REALLY obscure characters and projects -- because they were announced and
never published! Check it out!http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum94/HTML/014647.html

The Time TrustMember

posted July 23, 2002 07:40 PM

Hey all! erdmann suggested I post this bio of the 1970s Sandman
by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, continuing up to the time when Hector Hall died
and his son Daniel later became the new Dream. Keep in mind this is all done
from memory:

In the 1970s Joe Simon and Jack Kirby -- the legendary collaborative
team who produced so many wonderfully imaginative Sandman stories in the
1940s -- teamed up once more to create a NEW Sandman for the 1970s.
This new Sandman was written in a very whimsical way. He was
intended to actually be THE Sandman parents told their children about when
they asked why there was "sand" in their eyes when they woke up. He was
the eternal, immortal Sandman, and he protected children (although we only
saw him actually protect TWO children, Jed and a little girl who was the
daughter of a scientist) from hideous nightmare monsters.

The Sandman had two nightmare monsters as sometime-helpers/nuisances,
called Brute and Glob (you can imagine what they looked like from the
names). And actually, the two lead characters in Monsters, Inc. looked
suspiciously a LOT like them... hmmmmm...

Anyway, the character lasted for six issues (although the first issue
was originally intended to be a one-shot, stand-alone), and the final
seventh issue -- co-starring Santa Claus himself -- was published first in
CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE #2, and then for the general public in a Christmas
issue of BEST OF DC DIGEST #22. The series was definitely intended for
children.

The character languished in limbo from the mid-1970s on to about 1983,
when Roy Thomas brought him back in WONDER WOMAN #300. In this issue,
Thomas retconned the character (he did that kind of thing a lot, actually)
to now be a human scientist who had originally worked at UCLA and was an
expert on dreams. As he explains in his secret origin flashback to Wonder
Woman, his real name was Dr. Garrett Sanford, and one day, when the
President of the USA, no less, was in a coma that no doctors could get him
out of, Dr. Sanford was sent for from Washington due to his expertise in
dreams and nightmares. He was brought to a top-secret base where the
President was being held, and was supplied with all this Kirby-like
equipment which could actually propel him into the Dream Dimension itself.
He was dressed in a specially-designed uniform and took the plunge. In the
Dream Dimension he found the President's astral form being clutched by a
huge nightmare monster, whom he fought, saving the Prez and bringing him
back to consciousness. Unfortunately for Sanford, he was now stuck in the
Dream Dimension, and he could only leave it for one hour with the use of
his special whistle (don't ask). The government people sent in the rest of
the equipment for Sanford, who took up residence in the Dream Dimension
and began calling himself the Sandman.

This retroactive continuity leaves much to be desired, in my opinion,
however, and doesn't address too many questions raised from a re-reading
of the series.

Anyway, in WONDER WOMAN #300, Sanford is shown to be somewhat obsessed
with Wonder Woman, watching her as she dreamed. As a nightmare monster
came to attack her, he protected her, but to his dismay she reacted as any
woman would react to a stalker, at least at first. The Sandman helped WW
against the nightmare monster a few times that issue, but he never
appeared in the series again. I guess he felt rebuffed.

He appeared shortly afterwards in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ANNUAL #1,
where he assisted the JLA in defeating Dr. Destiny, who also had powers over
dreams. The Sandman was made an honorary member of the JLA, but this detail
has been almost completely forgotten by everyone, it seems, except me.

When this Sandman next appeared, it was sadly only in a flashback,
where it was revealed that he had gone crazy and committed suicide!!! This
was around INFINITY INC #49 or so, and was written by Roy Thomas once
again (surprise, surprise).

Now, I've enjoyed most of what Roy Thomas has written, but I really
hate his take on the 70s Sandman. I thought he took a character straight
from legend and the imagination and reduced him to just another guy in
tights with superpowers. There could have been SO much more done with the
character if he had been kept as the "eternal, immortal Sandman" rather
than been changed into the former Dr. Garrett Sanford. Anyway, what's
done is done, and Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN has already proven the potential
in an "eternal, immortal (Endless?) Sandman" character... but I thought
I'd point out that he WASN'T the first to do so. Simon and Kirby did it
first.

Anyway, back to INFINITY INC. One of the founders of Infinity Inc, the
Silver Scarab (Hector Hall), had already been turned into a villain and
killed off in an earlier storyline, but apparently Hector Hall's
untarnished soul was still out there somewhere. Well, Brute and Glob
(remember those two?) ended up going fishing one day and caught Hector
Hall's soul. And since the LAST Sandman had been alive when he became the
Sandman, causing him to be driven slowly insane because of it, it only
made sense for the NEXT Sandman to be dead already. Hector Hall's soul was
placed into Dr. Garrett Sanford's body, which was itself remolded somehow
to look just like Hec's old body. Then he began stalking Hippolyta (Lyta)
Trevor, alias Fury, his ex-girlfriend (sounds kinda... familiar, don't
it?), who was pregnant with his baby. He was found out soon enough
though, and he explained that he didn't want to show his face because he
could only leave the Dream Dimension for an hour at a time and thus
couldn't be a good husband for Lyta, letting her believe he was still dead
but looking in on her and the unborn baby from time to time. Well, Lyta
pooh-poohed this and said she'd be happy living in the Dream Dimension
with him, since she wasn't bound by any "one hour rule".

Hector and Lyta got married in INFINITY INC #50 (after battling some
fairy tale monsters, of course) and settled into newlywed bliss in the
Dream Dimension.

The Hector Hall Sandman was next seen, for the last time, in Neil
Gaiman's SANDMAN series, where it was shown that, even after two years or
so, Lyta Trevor Hall was STILL pregnant and the baby wasn't coming out any
time soon. Hector Hall was seen galavanting and palling around with Jed,
the original Sandman's pal. Well, it was revealed that the whole Dream
Dimension, the Dream Stream, and everything there, was all in Jed Walker's
mind. In fact, it was also revealed that Brute and Glob had originally
been servants of Morpheus, the true Sandman, and they created their own
little "The Dreaming" in this boy's mind due to his special abilities.
They got this bozo Sanford to stand in as their own made-up Sandman, and
then after he committed suicide picked up a dead soul for the next one.

Well, Hector Hall as the Sandman picked up Morpheus, who Brute and Glob
said was just another nightmare monster, and when he went to confront him
like any red-blooded superhero would, Morpheus saw this "little ghost" and
returned him to the dead, to Lyta's dismay. Morpheus also saw that Lyta
was carrying a child who had been carried in the womb for a long time in
the Dreaming. He was special, and later on he returned after Lyta gave
birth to him in the real world and named him "Daniel".

Now, due to the machinations of Morpheus/Dream's brother-sister Desire,
with the assistance of Loki and Puck, Daniel Hall appeared to be killed,
and Lyta Hall appealed to the Furies to go after his killer. They couldn't
do anything, however, until they realized that Dream had spilled his own
family's blood by killing his son Orpheus. That his son had asked him to
do this didn't matter, all that mattered was that the Furies avenged those
who killed family blood. Thus, Lyta Hall, as Fury, was responsible for the
Sandman's death, although it was really the Witches Three, alias the
Furies, alias the Fates, who killed him.

Daniel Hall then became the new Dream (Sandman), inheriting all the
memories of the former Dream.

outpost2Member

posted July 28, 2002 09:43 PM

BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY

BOMBA: THE CHILDREN'S BOOKS

The Stratemeyer Syndicate produced this 20 volume series from 1926
through 1938. They were written by ghostwriters using the pseudonym "Roy
Rockwood". The first ten Bomba the Jungle Boy books tell of his South
American adventures and his quest for the discovery of his origins. The
second set of ten books take Bomba on adventures set in different locales.

These books were originally released by Grosset & Dunlap from 1926
through 1938. Through the 30's and 40's, they re-issued the series in a
number of different formats. The first ten were then re-issued again as a
set in 1953. Also in 1953, Clover Books, an imprint of McLoughlin
Brothers, marketed the first half of the Bomba titles in a picture cover
format. In 1978, Grosset & Dunlap re-issued the first two volumes.

#1 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY; or, The Old Naturalist's Secret (1926) --
"Separated from his parents since childhood, a young boy, who has been
brought up in the jungle by an old naturalist, begins the long search for
his true identity." -- After Bomba saves the lives of two American rubber
hunters, they inquire about this teen-aged boy who lives in the Amazon
jungles. This sets Bomba to thinking about who is he and how he had come
to the jungle. When his guardian, the old naturalist Cody Casson, gives
him a clue as to the identity of his father and mother, Bomba sets off to
solve the mystery of his past.

#2 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING MOUNTAIN; or, The Mystery of the
Caves of Fire (1926) -- "Bomba sets out on a dangerous journey to find the
medicine man who can tell him the secret of his origins." -- Fourteen
year-old Bomba travels many miles through the jungle, and has many
encounters with wild beasts and hostile natives. At last, he reaches the
Andes Mountains and trails an old man to his caves of fire, learning a
little more about his past.

#3 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT; or, Chief Nascanora and
his Captives (1926) -- "Bomba treks through the Amazon jungle to the
Island of Snakes to find an old witch who may know the secret of his
origins." -- Bomba travels to the Giant Cataract, still searching for the
secrets of his past. Among the Pilati Indians, he finds an aged woman who
had at one time been a great operatic singer. She is the first to give
Bomba some real information about his parents.

#4 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND; or, Adrift on the River of
Mystery (1927) -- ??

#5 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY; or, A Treasure Ten
Thousand Years Old (1927) -- ??

#6 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL; or, The Mysterious Men from
the Sky (1928) -- ??

#7 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE SWAMP OF DEATH; or, The Sacred
Alligators of Abarago (1929) -- ??

#8 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE SLAVES; or, Daring Adventures in the
Valley of the Skulls (1929) -- ??

In 1949, producer Walter Mirisch began a series of low-budget adventure
films based on the popular Bomba story books. He hired Johnny Sheffield,
who had played Boy in the Tarzan films, to play the teen-aged jungle boy.
There were eight films produced by Mirisch for Monogram between 1949 and
1952, and four more produced by Ford Beebe for Allied Artists between 1953
and 1955.

BOMBA, THE JUNGLE BOY (1949) -- Photographer George Harland, and his
daughter Pat, arrive in the African jungle to film the exotic wildlife.
They are guided by an old friend, Andy Barnes. Pat and her gun-bearer
Mufti explore the region called the Great Rift. When Mufti is killed by a
leopard, a jungle boy named Bomba appears and kills the dangerous animal.
Later that night, Bomba makes an attempt to contact Harland regarding his
daughter's whereabouts, but he is wounded when the frantic photographer
fires at the jungle boy. Pat accompanies the injured Bomba to his home, a
cave overlooking a peaceful jungle paradise. Harland and Barnes, who
believe that Bomba has kidnapped Pat, track the jungle boy, but are soon
attacked by angry natives. Bomba and Pat arrive, and the youth saves the
men from the fierce warriors. Harland discovers that Bomba was raised by
an aged naturalist named Cody Casson, who has since died. Although he is
offered passage back to civilization, Bomba prefers to remain with his
jungle friends.

BOMBA AND THE JUNGLE GIRL (1952) -- With Cody Casson's diary as a
starting point, Bomba starts on a quest to discover the true identity of
his parents. While on his way to Gamboso's village seeking information
about his parents, Bomba rescues Linda Ward from a crocodile. The girl's
father is visiting the village to assess the living conditions for the
government. A blind native woman named Linasi informs Bomba that his
parents were killed by Gamboso's followers and were buried in a cave in
the hills. Before she can point the way, she is killed by a poisoned dart
fired by Boru, Gamboso's daughter. Bomba is then bound and taken back to
the village to be turned over to Ward for the murder. Linda forces his
release, and intends to investigate Bomba's claims regarding his parents.
Gamboso sends Boru and her warriors to stop the Wards. After ordering her
men to torch the jungle, Boru herself becomes trapped by the fire. Bomba
and Linda find and rescue Boru, however their only safety lies in a nearby
cave. It is there that Bomba discovers the evidence needed to convict
Gamboso. Boru tries to kill Bomba and Linda, but after a brief struggle,
she runs out of the cave and perishes in the flames. Gamboso is arrested
and Linasi's son, Kokoli, is promoted to chief. Bomba returns home,
satisfied that justice has been done.

KILLER LEOPARD (1954) -- Bomba guides a Hollywood starlet through the
jungle in search of her missing husband.

LORD OF THE JUNGLE (1955) -- Bomba tries to track down a rogue
elephant.

BOMBA: THE COMIC BOOKS

From mid-1967 through mid-1968, National Periodicals Publications, Inc.
(later DC Comics) published seven bi-monthly comic books based on the
adventures of the young jungle boy. They reprinted two of the tales in
1974, but changed the character's name to Simba to avoid copyright
infringement.

BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY

#1 (Sep-Oct 1967) "The Jaws Of Doom" -- Bomba lives in the Amazon
jungles of South America. His companions include Doto the spider monkey
and Tiki the parrot. Bomba is described as "a white boy, lost in the
wilderness as a baby and reared by a scientist explorer, Cody Casson". His
faithful friend Gibo brings him news of an attack by the warriors of
Jojasta on a party of explorers. Jojasta is an evil medicine man with whom
Bomba has clashed before. Jojasta, and a traitor amongst the explorers,
are stopped from stealing a treasure from the Incan temple of Xamza.

#2 (Nov-Dec 1967) "The Phantom City Of Death!" -- The archeologist
Prof. Wilson, and his daughter, had hoped to find the legendary City of
Gold. His daughter is captured by the warriors of Buo-Buo. While rescuing
the girl, Bomba encounters the last tribe of the ancient Incas.

#3 (Jan-Feb 1968) "My Enemy ... The Jungle!" -- A garbed man claiming
to be Viracocha, an ancient god of the Incas, enters the jungle village of
San Topa, demanding to rule it's people. Chief Atachi courageously steps
forward to oppose him, but is attacked. His daughter, Tina, seeks Bomba's
aid. Bomba battles sentient plant-men, eventually learning that they have
been tricked by the human posing as Viracocha.

#4 (Mar-Apr 1968) "The Deadly Sting Of Ana Conda!" -- Tina contacts
Bomba when the village of Panqui is destroyed by Ana Conda and his
Snakeskin Warriors. Bomba must contend with Tina's temporary loss of
memory as he defeats the killers.

#5 (May-Jun 1968) "Tampu Loves -- Bomba Dies!" -- Bomba and Tina travel
to a village deep in the rain forest which worships a statue of the evil
god Tampu. The statue soon comes to life and threatens the people. Bomba
discovers that the medicine man Manco is actually a white man who is using
the mechanical statue to gain access to the oil on the land.

#6 (Jul-Aug 1968) untitled -- Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the
people of a South American city engaged in many bizarre experiments. One
experiment released a deadly vapor which killed all but the tyrant Krag
and his six bodyguards, who escaped but soon fell into a deep state of
suspended animation. Over the millennia, the jungles covered the ancient
city. Then, one day, Krag is again freed. Bomba battles the tyrant, who
wishes to use his power to rebuild his wicked city. After killing Bomba's
friend Jobo, Krag flees. Bomba vows to find Krag and make him pay for what
he has done.

#7 (Sep-Oct 1968) "Nightmare!" -- Two people search for and locate
Bomba, informing him that they will be returning the jungle boy to
civilization whether he wants to go or not. When they show him a number of
photos, he recognizes Krag's handiwork in one of them, and agrees to go
with them. Before they depart, Bomba is forced to dress in more "proper"
attire. When they reach the city, they discover that the residents have
been driven insane. Krag has poisoned the water supply. Bomba again stops
the evil tyrant, who once again flees. Bomba then returns to his jungle
home.

Hey Outpost -- is it about time to archive this thread yet? And is it
possible to add the thread on the "Projects That Weren't" (
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum94/HTML/014647.html
) to the Archive? I think it's really a companion piece to these threads.

SargonNew Member

posted July 30, 2002 11:53 PM

CAPTAIN INCREDIBLE

At first glance, this teen hero seemed to be an extremely poorly dressed
four-eyed 98 pound weakling.

Captain Incredible was in fact an extremely powerful robot created by one
Dr. Dane Gnorr in the year 2637. The doctor had been a big fan of Superman and
sent his super robot into the past to help the Man of Steel out. At first,
Captain Incredible did preform his duties extremely well, in fact at one
point he saved Superman's life from a Kryptonite trap set by Lex Luthor.
However, due to the stress of breaking the time barrier, Incedible
malfuntioned soon after his arrival in the present and tried to kill
Superman. And with his superior strenth, speed, and an array of unique
powers such as Atomic Breath and Paralysis Vision, he almost managed to do
just that.

Superman managed to defeat the Captain by tricking him into
returning to the future where (or should it be when?) the ill effects of
his first trip through the time stream were reversed and he became good
once again. Of course, you are probably asking why the second trip didn't
warp his mind even more. Sorry if you are, I don't have an answer for you.
After some slight re-programming by Dr. Gnorr, Captain Incredible became a
super-hero once again, but this time he stayed in the 27th century.

Captain Incredible's first and only appearance to date happened in ACTION
COMICS #354, back in September of 1967, although I am hoping that one day he
will be found in the Legion's time and reactivated.

XanadudeMember

posted July 31, 2002 03:33 PM

Got one for you Superman fans out there -- in the late 60s/early 70s, there
seemed to be a recurring gang called the Skulls or something similar. One
of them was the son of a super-villain who battled Superman, and the son
gained powers and took him on also. I've only ever seen the covers of the
books, so does anyone have any more info on them?

Mikel MidnightMember

posted August 11, 2002 10:49 AM

Xanadude, the characters you're thinking of were The Annihilator and his
son. All I remember about them unfortunately was that The Annihilator had
one of the ugliest costumes I have ever seen.

XanadudeMember

posted August 12, 2002 10:35 PM

How about Grooble-Man? Rovin's Encyclopedia Of Super-Heroes mentions
that he appeared only once, in THE BEST OF DC DIGEST #60 and gains super
powers when he says the word "Grooble!". Sounds like a humor strip, but I
don't know.

Thanks, dnewton. I found one or two other minor checklist omissions also.
I'll try to get around to an update by next week.

BgztlMember

posted August 30, 2002 07:29 PM

Has anyone tried Commando Yank??

I don't have a complete set of WOW COMICS, but I could piece something
together from what I do have.

Is that helpful enough to be included??

Koppy McFadMember

posted August 30, 2002 09:05 PM

As the guy who first posted a request for Commando Yank, I would say, yes,
any reliable info on the character, his origin, powers/abilities, and
background would be appreciated.

All pictures of him show him to be a pretty tough-looking character,
usually scowling and wielding a firearm.

Sadly, the only thing people seem to know about him is how odd his name
sounds to modern ears.

BgztlMember

posted August 30, 2002 09:31 PM

Originally posted by Koppy McFad:

As the guy who first posted a request for Commando Yank, I would
say, yes, any reliable info on the character, his origin, powers/abilities,
and background would be appreciated.
All pictures of him show him to be a pretty tough-looking character,
usually scowling and wielding a firearm.
Sadly, the only thing people seem to know about him is how odd his
name sounds to modern ears.

OK. I'll try to read all the stories I have tonight and post tomorrow.
If it's not complete enough, someone will probably chime in.

BgztlMember

posted September 02, 2002 12:27 AM

Commando Yank first appeared in WOW COMICS # 6, cover dated July
15, 1942 and originally released sometime around April 17 of the same
year. Apparently created by the Chesler studio’s Charles Sultan, the strip
later featured art by Carl Pfeufer and Dan Barry. He started out as a
masked solider without too many super hero attributes. He didn’t even have
a secret identity. He just apparently enjoyed wearing that infernal mask.
(DC’s Captain Desmo had a similar affectation for a white flying helmet).

In his first adventure, Commando Yank’s debt to both the movie newsreels
and the radio dramas was obvious. You can almost hear the crisp,
overdramatic newsreel delivery as I let the story speak for itself:

The Commandos! Who and what are they? How many of us know the inside
story of these daring raiders?

The Commandos! Glorious fighting men of England! By day, they plan, . . .
by night, they attack!

Right into the stronghold of the enemy they go, right into the very
jaws of death!

A small band but with the courage of thousands! The harder and bigger
the task, the more eager they are to win ---

And leading them?

Well, it’s a Yank! Yes, a red-blooded American! Maybe from your town or
yours or yours ---

Read on ---

Thrill every moment to that unsung hero . . . Commando Yank!

And the radio drama continues in the adventure as Commando Yank goes to
Norway on a reconnaissance mission disguised as an old fisherman. He uses
a corny radio drama accent in one sequence that is unintentionally funny.
Here is the sterling dialogue. Please note the disgusted inn-keeper’s
reaction:

“Yimme, please a sandvich, ya?”

“Harrumph!!” the innkeeper responds, but hands him the note anyway,
obviously hoping Commando Yank will just TRY to actually speak Norwegian
instead of a bad stage accent.

It is not to be.

“T’anks please.” C.Y. responds. Meanwhile the nearby Nazi troopers are
clearly enjoying their lager a little too much because they miss the whole
exchange.

Thank goodness or it would have been Fawcett’s shortest cover feature
character ever!

Hey, if I were a Norwegian who was playing host to German troops and
this goon, I probably would have shot him. Good thing the innkeeper was a
patriot!

Anyway, the story gets a lot better. Commando Yank is detected back
at his boat, which is revealed as a speedboat instead of a fishing trawler.
Our fighting Commando battles his way free and takes off to an undisclosed
location on the British coast.

Commando Yank enters what appears to be a dilapidated fishing shelter.
However as he quickly descends a secret stairway, an underground tunnel to
“Base 33” is revealed. General stereotyped British bon home transpires
where we see the unwavering bravery of the British forces - all of whom,
however, turn naturally to the Yank for any leadership and guidance.

Sigh.

Anyway, they decide to target the Norwegian Underground’s goals, but to
attack at an unexpected location up the coast. They will destroy radio and
supply lines and take German prisoners if they can.

The plan begins, with the commandos entering “beetle boats” to invade
the Norwegian coast. They are accompanied by two British destroyers and
air cover by a wing of Hampden bombers. And a good thing too.

The fighting is fierce. (Another unintentionally funny line occurs in
this segment as Commando Yank uses “old American Indian tricks of warfare”
as he and his troops blast their way up a “deserted street”. Personally,
I’m guessing Sitting Bull, Pontiac, and Chief Joseph wouldn’t have wasted
their time “blasting up” a “deserted” street. But that’s just me. )

Commando Yank is hit by a sniper’s bullet in the shoulder, but manages
to take out the sniper with his own pistol. He also engages in a lot of
hand-to-hand combat, including fisticuffs with the defending Nazi
troopers.

Finally, however, the commandos win the day. They return victorious to
England.

The first few adventures are very similar, featuring different European
locales all cheerfully resisting Hitler and his crew. They are a sort of
travelogue of conventional scenes from old movies about “foreign”
countries. Typical was “Danger at the Dike” from AMERICA’S GREATEST COMICS
# 7, dated Spring 1943. In that adventure, Commando Yank appears
disguised in his mask, wooden shoes, and a cap. Meanwhile, Vandermeer, the
leader of Holland’s underground, hides a coded message in a meerschaum, and
the evil Nazis burrow a tiny hole in one of the dikes facing the Zuider Zee.
Commando Yank is just barely able to defeat Baron Glutz, stop up the
hole in the dike, and use a windmill to leap onto the struts of a
low-flying RAF fighter before the night is over. Incredibly, the hero
climbs inside the plane’s cockpit and returns home to England with the
pilots.

Our faceless hero was a young boy’s wish fulfillment, but not a serious
hero even by Captain Marvel’s standards. I have to assume that Fawcett
asked for something more accessible. The nameless, faceless hero was just
too unbelievable.

But it was a series of baby-steps.

In “The Adventure of the Enemy Express” from WOW COMICS # 13,
we learned for the first time that Commando Yank was, in reality Chase
Yale, a reporter working for the American Broadcasting System and using
shortwave to broadcast across the channel to occupied France and to the
world. He was shown using a quick speedboat to slip through the Nazi
coastal patrols and slip into France. There, he entered factories and
towns to meet with underground leaders and plot the disruption of German
plans.

Chase Yale resided in the Hotel Aster. An odd feature of the old
building is that it faced a small courtyard on one side that was bounded
by a different hotel. Oddly, Chase Yale’s window was one of the two that
opened on the courtyard. Across the way was Commando Yank’s HQ. Chase
would leap from one window to the other creating the illusion that Chase
and the Commando were not the same man. Commando Yank simply retired to
his room, leapt across the courtyard, and re-appeared as Chase Yale in the
Hotel Aster.

Also, early on, Chase Yale pretended to disbelieve rumors of this
masked Commando Yank, the terror of the Nazis. Recklessly, Chase would
broadcast information on the rumored activities of Commando Yank and the
resistance. Then, transforming into the Commando, he would carry out his
rumored plans to confound the enemy.

In that very issue though, the idiocy of this approach was shown. The
Nazis actually almost catch the Commando because of Yale’s broadcast.
Incredibly, Commando Yank uses fast footwork to defeat two
German-sympathizing trainmen and a detachment of soldiers. He hijacks a
munitions train and gives the arms to the French Underground.

At the end of the story, Yale again publicly doubted the existence of
Commando Yank and brags on air about how his “prediction” that the enemy’s
munitions plant would be upset by the resistance was proved to be true.

Contrary to all those Hogan’s Heroes reruns you might have seen,
the German Army was filled with a lot of very bright people. Chase might
as well have hung a sign on his neck that said “I am Commando Yank”.

This story idea was, wisely, later abandoned. Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet
Pimpernel could get away with that kind of taunting because he was dodging
muskets. Machine guns are a little harder to laugh off.

All in all, the Commando’s stories did not ever gel as well as the
well-defined Marvels or Bulletman.

In an odd correlation with All-American’s ALL STAR COMICS,
Commando Yank fought the “dread Black Dragon Society” in a story called
“Mikado for a Day”. The story, from WOW COMICS # 18, dated October
1943, is eerie for many reasons. The art appears to be by Phil Bard, who did
a mean swipe of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The aforementioned Black Dragon
Society was lifted from ALL STAR COMICS # 12 from the previous
year. And to top things off, Chase Yale was referred to repeatedly as
Carter Yale. It’s almost like a Gardner Fox story got lost
and rewritten by the Chesler studio!!

In the tale itself, “Carter” Yale hears about the plight of Americans
who lived in a section of Tokyo called “Little America”. The Chinese and
American forces are helpless to save them from execution at the hands of
the Black Dragons - who intend to throw them into the volcanic Mount
Fujiyama’s smoldering crater.

Commando Yank hitches a ride on the wing strut of a Chinese
reconnaissance plane and parachutes onto Mount Fujiyama. In short order, he
dispatches the Black Dragons and rescues the Americans. They decide to
hide in plain sight, a la Poe, and return to “Little America” in the heart
of Tokyo. From there they hope to make plans to escape.

But instead, a surprise visit from the Emperor gives Commando Yank a
priceless opportunity. He captures the Emperor and holds him at gunpoint.
Because ordinary Japanese soldiers are trained to obey the Emperor’s
slightest command and do not see him, Commando Yank is able to get the
Emperor to order the “return” of the Americans to their countrymen as
non-combatants. Commando Yank stays with the Emperor until the command is
carried out.

The Emperor calls upon a prototype of Nippo, Captain Marvel’s foe, and
two other bodyguards. However, Commando Yank defeats the bruisers and
takes over the Mikado’s throne. Then, from inside the palace grounds, he
orders a second attack on Pearl Harbor.

“What?!?!?!?” you say. Yep. You read it right. But since the American
forces were prepared this time and it wasn’t a sneak attack, the Japanese
fleet is easily destroyed.

Wish fulfillment and jingoism at its best. And somewhat similar to the
effect of Doolittle’s raid perhaps.

At the end, Commando Yank leaves the Emperor alive to avoid creating a
martyr (I guess the Black Dragon folks were too anonymous to count).

But the stories did start to become more and more believable. Carl
Pfeufer’s appearance on the art chores also meant some great action-packed
stories.

Commando Yank seemed to start focusing more on the war in the Pacific.
And he continued the newsreel-like coverage of the war. So, in WOW COMICS
# 36, dated May 1945, for example, Commando Yank and MacArthur
are both shown in the same story liberating the Phillipines. Commando Yank
smokes out a few underground Japanese Army contingents, destroys a
munitions plant disguised as a village, and frees Filipino slave-laborers.
MacArthur does the heavy lifting of freeing the island at the end.

In one unusual moment, Commando Yank mistakenly believes a Filipino
freedom fighter is a traitor and tosses him at the Japanese troops. After
learning of his error, freeing the man, and encountering the brave
slave-labor force, he discovers that one of the slaves is the daughter of
the man he tossed away.

The story ends assuring us those stories of Japanese soldiers having
health problems and retreating are lies. In “reality”, Commando Yank
defeated them all.

Fawcett must have ordered a stockpile of stories during the war to
cover for the possibility of losing its artists and writers to the draft.
Wartime tales continued for a while after V-E Day and V-J Day, “from the
Official War Archive”. Many appear to be recycled stories of one sort or
another as the publisher tried to adjust to having a character called a
“commando” in peacetime.

For example, in WOW COMICS # 40’s “The Secret of the Vial”
(inadvertently called “Tokyo Takeoff” in the table of contents), Commando
Yank battled Dr. Yaki on a secret volcanic island base. The island was
kept a secret by shooting down all over flying planes and by capturing all
the American forces that landed near the island.

Dr. Yaki had invented a serum that makes men into giants. (Again, this
same idea was used many times by Gardner Fox, whose Professor Hugo Strange
and Mister Who both used similar formulas.) And he used the American
pilots and soldiers as gladiatorial combatants to “test” his brutal
creations.

Like a costumed James Bond, Commando Yank infiltrates the hidden base,
finds the lost American pilots, defeats the giants and Dr. Yaki, and blows
the whole thing to kingdom come.

This seems to mark the start of a sort of spy-game Commando Yank. Chase
Yale travels the world for his paper and moonlights as the costumed
freedom fighter, setting wrongs to right and advancing the United Nations’
(i.e., the victorious allies excluding Russia) interests throughout the
world.

Again, in “Scoop at Sea” from WOW COMICS # 47, Chase Yale is
sent to Batista’s Cuba, where he becomes involved in a plot to assassinate
a beautiful young woman. Chase was summoned by his editor from the
National Hotel in Brazil by a cryptic note. Because he doesn’t know why
he’s in Havana, Chase explores the bay area (in a shirt that he must have
stolen from Lance O’Casey and monogrammed with a big “C.Y.”).

Seeing two boats on a collision course, he tries to intervene. Commando
Yank first frees the girl from handcuffs on board a sailboat as a
captainless vessel is heading toward her. Then he defeats agents from an
unidentified totalitarian country. It turns out the girl is soon to take
the throne of Slovenia and the agents were trying to assassinate her.

Finally, after the case is solved, Yale’s editor finally wires him that
he is to keep a lookout for the Princess in Havana. As Chase puts it, he
“scooped” himself.

As I understand it, Commando Yank lasted up until Mary Marvel herself
was replaced by Ozzie in WOW COMICS # 59, but I do not have enough issues
to confirm that.

Commando Yank was an ordinary soldier without superpowers or superhuman
abilities, but some skill at tactics, hand-to-hand combat, and disguise.

It was suggested, but never stated as far as I know, that he was a fair
linguist and was able to speak many different languages, including French,
Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese.

In his stories, everyone always appeared to speak English even when, in
context, it was clear they must be actually using their native tongues.

He wore a gray tunic and gray pants, a blue weapons belt, black boots
with red and white socks, and a blue hood that covered his eyes in a mask
but left his nose and mouth bare. On his chest he wore a large white
circular emblem in the center of which was a blue star. In the center of
the star was a small red circle.

Excellent pictures of him can be found on numerous early and late
issues of Fawcett's WOW COMICS, including his first appearance in #
6, and an excellent side view on the cover of # 8. He appeared as a smaller
figure on many more covers of issues featuring Mary Marvel and the other
WOW-sters.

I hope this was some help even though my sampling is small.

- Jack Holt

Koppy McFadMember

posted September 03, 2002 03:18 AM

Thanks Bgztl,

Commando Yank sounds like an interesting character for his era. The
word "commando" had a more exotic connotation at the time. And the word
"Yank" sounded so patriotic.

I noticed he had no origin. Nor is there an explanation of why an
American is leading all the British commandoes.

Reminds me of that American character in the movie "Pearl Harbor", who
just shows up in England and starts shooting down all the German planes.

As dated as this character sounds, he might actually be interesting to
revive someday.

Koppy McFadMember

posted September 06, 2002 10:55 PM

I noticed that since Sept 11, another comic company (AC Comics, I believe)
has been reviving that golden oldie, Fighting Yank.

Maybe he could team up with Commando Yank and we could have an All-Yank
special.

Was there ever a hero called Captain Yank?

(I know there was a strip called "Yank and Doodle" but I think that was
a comedy.)

Tenzel KimMember

posted September 06, 2002 11:07 PM

Originally posted by Koppy McFad:

I know there was a strip called "Yank and Doodle" but I think
that was a comedy.

Not to mention Yankee Poodle

Koppy McFadMember

posted September 07, 2002 02:46 AM

THE CRUSADERS
(both of them!)

In the mid-70s, DC and Marvel both had titles reviving Golden Age
heroes. Marvel had their All-Winners revived in the pages of THE INVADERS.
DC meanwhile revived the Quality Comics heroes in the pages of FREEDOM
FIGHTERS.

At one point, both books had doppelgangers of the other hero team show
up in their comics (ala Squadron Supreme). This was almost simultaneous
and, amazingly, both new super-teams were called "the Crusaders".

This has always struck me as too much of a coincidence and I can't help
but suspect that either there was an inter-company conspiracy or that one
writer heard what the other was planning and decided to try to match him.

Anyway, here is the Marvel version of the Crusaders, as they appeared
in INVADERS # 14-15, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Frank Robbins.

1. The Spirit of 76: William Nasland, an American dressed like a
revolutionary hero and equipped with a bullet-proof cloak. (Clearly the
stand-in for Uncle Sam)

5. Cap'n Wings: Upper-class gent who couldn't get into the RAF because
of a heart murmur. He had wings and he could fly. (Black Condor)

6. Thunderfist: A guy with explosive punches. (Human Bomb)

They show up in wartime London and rout the crew of a crashed German
bomber, convincing the British that they finally have a superteam to rival
the Invaders.

An eccentric cab driver named Alfie seems to be their boss. It is later
revealed that he gave most of them the devices that grant them their
powers and can turn their powers off with a switch on his belt.

But Dyna-Mite, who has no memory of where he came from, becomes
suspicious. He spies on Alfie and discovers that he is a tool of the Nazis
and is using them in a plot to assassinate the king.

Eventually, the truth (and a bomb in the champagne bottle) is revealed.
Alfie flees but is killed when the Torch's fireball causes his taxi to go
off a bridge. Most of the Crusaders give up their heroic careers, now that
their powers are gone.

Two of the Crusaders however remained active: Spirit of 76 took over as
the new Captain America when Steve Rogers got frozen. But after the war,
Nasland was killed in a fight with some robots of the evil android called
Adam 1.

Dyna-Mite turned out to be a friend of Brian Falsworth, the original
Mighty Destroyer, and later Union Jack II. Aubrey was restored to his
normal size and succeeded Falsworth as the Mighty Destroyer.

The DC Comics’ Crusaders were even stranger. They debuted in FREEDOM
FIGHTERS # 7, by Bob Rozakis and Dick Ayers.

At the time, the Freedom Fighters had been framed for murder and were
running from NY district attorney Pearson. In that issue, a team looking
very much like the Invaders offers to go after the Freedom Fighters.

Both Pearson and the Freedom Fighters recognize them as characters from
old comic books. No one seems too concerned how old comic book characters
could come to life.

They are:

1. Americommando: No relation to the DC hero who was also
called Mr. America. This guy had super strength and a triangular shield
(which he threw!). He was later revealed to be the Freedom Fighters’
arch-foe, the Silver Ghost. He was a clear stand-in for Captain America.

2. Rusty: Teenaged sidekick with no powers, obviously Bucky.

3. Fireball and Sparky: A flaming duo. Clearly the Human Torch and
Toro.

4. Barracuda: A green-skinned, trident-wielding, super-strong, flying
amphibian who was clearly the Sub-Mariner in looks and demeanor.

The Crusaders slugged it out with the Freedom Fighters. They also
fought among themselves until finally, after being deserted by
Americommando, they reveal the truth:

Except for the Americommando, they were all a bunch of comic book fans
who were approached at a comic con and asked if they wanted to become
superheroes.

They are briefly identified as Roy, Marv, Len, and Archie. I suspect
these guys were supposed to be caricatures of Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, Len
Wein, and Archie Goodwin.

Americommando zaps them with a ray and they become their favorite
golden-age heroes. Amazing!

The rest of the Crusaders simply disappear at the end of the story
(FREEDOM FIGHTERS # 9) and there is no sign that they have lost their
powers. But they never appear again. Maybe the experience disillusioned
them from being superheroes.

I doubt the real Len, Marv, Roy, and Archie would just take up the offer
of a stranger who approaches them at a comic con and promises to turn them
into superheroes.

Well, maybe Roy would, but Archie would know better.

Amid the flood of all these Crusaders, no one even remembered that
there was an earlier team of superheroes, the Mighty Crusaders, which was
made up of the old MLJ heroes.

erdmannMember

posted September 09, 2002 02:45 PM

During the weekend I posted some material on the Superman and Hawkman
boards that might fit here, too. Both posts concerned obscure characters
who have gained prominence thanks to last week’s comics. So, with some
editing and additional information, here are brief bios for Nighthawk,
Cinnamon, and the original (pre-Crisis) Master Jailer.

WARNING! WARNING!! SPOILERS, WILL ROBINSON!!! Be advised the following
contains spoilers for HAWKMAN #7. You may want to read it first.

NIGHTHAWK and CINNAMON

The recent HAWKMAN [4th series] #7 tells the story of
the first meeting between two of DC’s old western characters, Nighthawk
and Cinnamon. During 1994’s Zero Hour crossover event, it was revealed
that Nighthawk was an incarnation of Khufu, the Egyptian prince who would
one day be reborn as Carter Hall, the Golden Age Hawkman (This
much-maligned story also introduced the “hawk avatar” aspect and merged
Hall with the “Hawkworld” version of Katar Hol). The new story reveals
that Cinnamon is the reincarnation of Chay-Ara, Khufu’s beloved who would
be reborn again as the first Hawkgirl.

Nighthawk first appeared in WESTERN COMICS #5 (Sep-Oct 1948) in a tale
drawn by Charles Paris. The writer, according to the Grand Comics Database,
is unknown.

WHO’S WHO vol. XVI (June 1986) says Nighthawk (who originally had a
definitive “the” in front of his name, ala “the Bat-Man”) appeared
mysteriously out of the East atop the black stallion Nightwind. His civilian
guise was that of traveling fix-it man Hannibal Hawkes. He worked mostly in
the Arizona Territory.

For a while, he traveled with a young boy named Jim Peyton,
whose family had been killed by outlaws. After leaving Jim in the care of
Miss Pritchett, a school marm, he rode alone again, spending more time in
his masked identity and less as Hawkes.

At some point, after he had all
but abandoned his civilian ID, Nighthawk encountered Greg Saunders, the
Golden Age Vigilante, who had been sent to the old west during the fateful
encounter between the Seven Soldiers of Victory and the Nebula Man.
Saunders spoke of the future and he also spoke of St. Roch, La., a
wide-open town that held an appeal for Hawkes. In a saloon, he met
“Gentleman” Jim Craddock (future Hawkman foe, the Gentleman Ghost, who may
or may not have already been dead at this point), who told Nighthawk that
an innocent man was about to be lynched.

Cyrus Evans was a former slave
whose elderly employer, Bois Garvey, had been murdered. Garvey had named
Evans his sole heir in hopes the younger man would set up a museum with
his valuable possessions. This left his grasping niece, Matida Dunney,
with nothing. Dunney, who may have had Garvey killed, stirred up the
community with claims that Evans had killed Garvey. Then, after his
arrest, she brought in hired guns to break him out of jail and hang him.

Cinnamon is of much more recent vintage, having first appeared in
WEIRD WESTERN TALES # 48 and 49 (Sept-Oct and Nov 1978). Hers was supposed
to be a new on-going backup series to Scalphunter’s, but it fell victim to
the dreaded DC Implosion. Her eight-page introduction was written by Roger
McKenzie with art by Jack Abel and Danny Bulanadi. The second chapter was
by McKenzie, Howard Chaykin and Bulanadi.

According to those stories,
the red-haired girl nicknamed Cinnamon (real name: Kate) was orphaned at
an early age when her father, a widowed Wyoming sheriff, was shot down in
front of her by a gang of bank robbers. She grew up in an orphanage,
nursing her desire for revenge. At 18, she set out to find her father’s
killers, armed with a gun, a knife, and a supply of shuriken that looked
like sheriff’s badges.

Cinnamon next appeared in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA # 198 and 199
(Jan and Feb 1982). The two-parter by Gerry Conway,
Don Heck and Brett Breeding (whose inks made Heck’s work look great),
featured a meeting between the League and Scalphunter, Cinnamon, Jonah Hex,
and Bat Lash during a battle against the Lord of Time. I assume this
story, with certain changes, is still in continuity, as I have seen nothing
to specifically eliminate it. She also popped up in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS
# 5 (Aug 1985).

Cinnamon’s quest for vengeance finally led her
to St. Roch, where she tricked Emile Graydon, the final man involved in
her father’s death, to draw on her. She gunned him down. Nighthawk, who
was seated nearby with Craddock, shot Graydon’s associate before he could
shoot Cinnamon. She denied she needed the help. The gunslingers were
immediately drawn to each other.

Reluctant at first, Cinnamon joined Nighthawk in rescuing Evans from a mob.
They hid in his master’s mansion, Stonechat House, until a judge arrived and
ruled Evans innocent.

Nighthawk’s ultimate fate has changed twice since the Crisis.
He was originally obliterated by an anti-matter wave in CRISIS # 3 (June
1985). Later, in the previous HAWKMAN series, Vandal Savage claimed he hanged
the gunman. Of course, Savage has made many claims over the years which
appear to be little more than self-aggrandizing lies, so his account could
be hogwash. According to HAWKMAN #7, Nighthawk died saving innocents in
St. Roch, shot through the head by Dunney (who by then had married into
the Roderic family). Cinnamon killed Dunney, but was fatally wounded in
the process.

NOTE 1: Considering the comic book tradition of all
characters with the same (or similar, as in the case of “Sanders” and
“Saunders”) last names being related, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone
decided that Jim Peyton was an ancestor of Will “Starman” Payton. It would
only take misspelling the name on one official document to change the
family name forever.

NOTE 2: In the current DCU, there is a “Cinnamon” musical (shades of
“Annie, Get Your Gun”). A billboard for it was seen in the recent WONDER
WOMAN [2nd series] #175.

MASTER JAILER I

The “Ending Battle” storyline now featured in the Superman titles
has introduced a new villain named the Master Jailer. What many readers seem
not to realize, however, is that another version of this character existed
before the Crisis.

The original Master Jailer was introduced in SUPERMAN [1st series] #331
(Jan 1979). He was Carl “Moosie” Draper, a Smallville native who harbored an
obsession with Lana Lang that dated back to the days when he was a fat,
seemingly slow-witted teen.

As an adult, Draper developed his body and his mind. He became a
scientific genius capable of designing cells that could hold even the most
powerful super-villains. He created the high-tech Mount Olympus
Correctional Facility, which Superman encased in a bubble and set on an
anti-gravity platform so it could float 20,000 feet above the Earth. Supes
dubbed it “Draper’s Island”, but Lana, who was present for the grand
opening in her pre-Crisis role as a TV newswoman, preferred “Superman
Island”.

When that nickname stuck, Draper became embittered and took on
the Master Jailer identity to capture both Lana and Supes. He was
defeated, of course, and locked up in his own prison. He later escaped and
was hired by enemies of Supergirl to use his abilities to defeat her.
Draper also used his scientific know-how to commit thefts.

Actually, the Master Jailer was Draper’s second villainous identity. Years
earlier, Superboy built Kator, a robot meant to test his powers. Kator,
however, developed a mind of his own and almost killed the Boy of Steel before
being destroyed. What Superboy did not know, was that Kator somehow
arranged for his powers to be transferred to Draper. The two teens battled
until Pa Kent shut off Kator’s powers. Superboy then erased Draper’s
memories of the fight.

The Crisis rendered him non-existent. The new Master Jailer appears to
be a totally different person, but he wears a variation on the original’s
costume.

Hellst0neMember

posted September 10, 2002 02:19 AM

Addition to erdmann's MASTER JAILER bio: Fact is, there already WAS a
post-Crisis Master Jailer BEFORE Geoff Johns introduced him in "Ending
Battle". The Carl Draper of the post-Crisis DCU called himself "Deathtrap"
and was in the Superman titles circa ten years ago. I'm not sure
whether Geoff Johns is aware of this character... OR the fact that the OTHER
"re-introduced" villain, Neutron, has been seen SEVERAL times post-Crisis,
both in Superman books and other titles. In his latest appearance, it
seems like he and Superman meet for the first time and that is not the
case.

/ola

Koppy McFadMember

posted September 11, 2002 08:11 AM

CRUSADERS ADDENDUM

I forgot to mention that the "Americommando" who led the DC Comics’
Crusaders team was really the Freedom Fighters' arch-foe, the Silver
Ghost.

There was no mention of how he gained super-strength or developed the
technology to turn comic fans into golden age superheroes. (Much less why
he chose to bestow these powers on comic fans instead of hired thugs.)

TexcapMember

posted September 11, 2002 01:12 PM

Great idea folks and, more so, a great reference.

I didn't notice her on the list so far. How's about:

Cinnamon (DC's Wild West)

IF she meets the 'obscure' criteria.

Thanks.

dataloreMember

posted September 11, 2002 02:15 PM

In 1898, a young lady with red hair was blazing a trail across the west,
hunting the men who killed her father...

...and she was called Cinnamon.

Along with her pistols, she used a sheriff's badge like a shuriken...

She appeared in two issues of WEIRD WESTERN TALES as a backup (and
a third was lost to the DC Implosion), and it looked like her hunt would
be uncompleted.

But things took a strange turn, and she ended up meeting Scalphunter,
Bat Lash (both heroes from the 1860s), and Jonah Hex (from the 1870s) in a
pair of issues of JLofA (though they WERE facing the Lord of Time... but it
was never suggested that she or they were moved in time...)

She then appeared in Crisis (but only in group shots, where she may
have been taken out of any time...), and then as a member of Nighthawk's
"Rough Bunch" (a loose affiliation of western heroes, basically organized
to fight Extant in GUY GARDNER: WARRIOR), and had an even slighter
recent cameo in WONDER WOMAN as an advertisement on a billboard.

That is, until her recent appearance hooking up with Nighthawk in
HAWKMAN.

Appearances:

Weird Western Tales #48, 49

Justice League Of America #198, 199

Crisis #5, 7

Guy Gardner: Warrior #24

Wonder Woman [2nd series] #175 (as an image on a billboard)

Hawkman [4th series] #7

dataloreMember

posted September 11, 2002 02:19 PM

And apologies to Erdmann, who did a bang-up recounting of Cinnamon with
Nighthawk...

dataloreMember

posted September 11, 2002 02:30 PM

Trying to work out Cinnamon's history in:
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum17/HTML/000565.html

(I mean, the first two appearances are easy, but did the Crisis move
her earlier, so she could meet those folks and the JLA, then GG: WARRIOR Zero
Hour issue move her back, or what?)

(Look at the thread also for any western knowledge...hmm...how many
folks of the Wild West have been covered under the Obscure Characters
thread???)

XanadudeMember

posted September 15, 2002 03:25 PM

OK, another character I'm stuck on ---

Jezebelle from the Return of the New Gods - my only exposure to her was
in the New Gods stories in the old ADVENTURE Dollar Comics -- did she
appear in any of Kirby's stories? Did she appear since? What up with her?
Was she a Female Fury?

And still no word on Grooble Man?

Koppy McFadMember

posted September 17, 2002 05:45 AM

Jezebelle of the Fiery Eyes was highlighted in the Conway-Newton "Return
of the New Gods" series of the early-1980s.

Sorry, I don't have the issue numbers (or the issues anymore).

This was probably her debut. I don't believe Kirby created her.

She was a mutant, born on Apokolips and trained by Granny Goodness.
(But there was no mention of her being a member of the Female Furies.)

She was always reluctant to kill and when she was captured in a war
with New Genesis, she eagerly changed sides.

For awhile, it looked like Jezebelle was being groomed to become
Orion's romantic interest, but the DC implosion caused the cancellation of
the title. The storyline was wrapped up in ADVENTURE COMICS.

She had a clear resemblance to Storm of the (then) new X-Men. I saw her
included in a few panels in the Paris Cullins revival of the New Gods, but
have not noticed her since.

If someone has more info, feel free to contribute.

Tenzel KimMember

posted September 17, 2002 07:37 AM

Originally posted by datalore:

I mean, the first two appearances are easy, but did the Crisis move
her earlier, so she could meet those folks and the JLA, then GG: WARRIOR Zero
Hour issue move her back, or what?

Personally I prefer to move her first appearance some years back to
make the other appearances fit.

A number of the early Jonah Hex stories in WEIRD WESTERN TALES, for
instance, also had dates some of which were actually later than the dates
given in the beginning of the JONAH HEX series (at least I'm pretty sure
that's the case; been some time since I last read those issues). And
considering JONAH HEX followed up on some of the things shown in WWT, that
must mean that the dates given in the early stories were wrong.

So, if we can move back those appearances, I see no problem doing the
same with Cinnamon, as there was no important reason for it to take place
in 1898 as far as I recall. That way, her later appearances wouldn't cause
much of a problem.

erdmannMember

posted September 18, 2002 02:11 AM

Originally posted by datalore:

And apologies to Erdmann, who did a
bang-up recounting of Cinnamon with Nighthawk...

No apologies necessary, datalore. And thanks for the compliment.

Koppy McFadMember

posted September 20, 2002 05:29 AM

JEZEBELLE OF THE FIERY EYES
First appeared in NEW GODS # 12 in the late-1970s.

(This series continued using the numbering of the old NEW GODS series.
A rather quaint practice in this day of new 'No. 1's every month.)

She appeared in NEW GODS # 12-19 and in ADVENTURE COMICS # 459-460,
which picked up the story after NEW GODS was cancelled. These issues were
almost entirely done by Gerry Conway and Don Newton.

Jezebelle also appeared in the first issue of NEW GODS [3rd series]
(marking her only post-Crisis appearance) but she subsequently
disappeared. This issue was written by Mark Evanier and drawn by Paris
Cullins, but later issues were done by other writers.

Apparently, only Evanier had any interest in her.

Many readers consider the Conway-Newton stories to be out of continuity,
so Jezebelle's place in the canonical DCU is quite unclear.

She was a blue-skinned, red-haired native of Apokolips with huge eyes
that could emit heat rays. She could also fly and likely had all the other
powers associated with the New Gods.

One flashback showed her being trained by Granny Goodness to kill her
fellow students but her heart wasn't in it, and when she was captured in a
war with New Genesis, she defected to the other side.

There were some tender scenes between her and Orion, but nothing ever
came of it.

Her physical design showed some strong influence of the Dave Cockrum
version of the Storm of the X-Men (especially the huge eyes that Storm was
sporting at the time.)

She was possibly the first original character introduced into the
Fourth World titles after Kirby left.

dataloreMember

posted September 20, 2002 08:52 AM

Of Cinnamon's WEIRD WESTERN TALES...

...the only mention of dates were indeed in the captions (which also
try to place her in a time after Jonah and such...)

Now, how about Nighthawk? Must we assume that his death in Crisis just
wasn't, and throw his GUY GARDNER: WARROR #24 appearance AFTER Crisis...

De nada, erdmann (always nice to know all these great characters
have fans!)

And, hey, wouldn't be great if we could see a western out of DC again?

dnewtonMember

posted September 21, 2002 05:38 AM

Well, I can give you an updated appearance list for item 92, plus a
complete article on item 150, if you like.

Sk8mavenMember

posted September 21, 2002 11:01 AM

Originally posted by datalore:

Now, how about Nighthawk? Must we assume that his death in
Crisis just wasn't, and throw his GUY GARDNER: WARROR #24 appearance
AFTER Crisis...

Guess so. His post-Zero Hour hanging at the hands of Vandal Savage
seems to have been negated also (unless there's an untold story there
along the lines of Clint Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High").

Enda80Member

posted September 23, 2002 03:46 PM

Oh, an update on appearances of the Asgardian Gods in the DCU:

Thor appeared in BOY COMMANDOS #7, which would fit in with Earth-2.

Thor also appeared in HIT COMICS #38, which would fit in with
Earth-Quality or Earth-S.

XanadudeMember

posted October 06, 2002 01:36 AM

OK, since no one knows what the hell a Grooble Man is, I guess I'll throw
out a relatively easy obscure character that I've always wanted to know
more about..... Rona Barrett..... ooops, I mean. Lola Barnett.......

And, just for the hell of it, and to keep the thread up and
running, I'll do Superman, Junior in the next couple of days....

Justin SlotmanNew Member

posted October 08, 2002 11:09 AM

I finally picked up the Forgotten Heroes/Forgotten Villains issues of DC
COMICS PRESENTS and am shocked to find no entry on this list for Yggadris,
The Living Planet. Somebody who knows the DCU better than me can maybe do
an entry on this, er, being -- I'm assuming if he was a Forgotten Villain
this wasn't his first appearance.

XanadudeMember

posted October 12, 2002 08:24 PM

In a scene that would become eerily familiar to him, Superman, using his
X-Ray vision, notices a small rocket ship landing outside Metropolis.
Superman investigates, and a young, blonde haired boy emerges. The young
man is Johnny Kirk.

Years ago, when he was Superboy, Superman met Professor Morton Kirk, an
astronomer. Prof. Kirk was convinced that Earth would soon be destroyed by
a "wandering planet" that was on a collision course for Earth, so he
placed his young son in a rocket and aimed it for space.

Unfortunately, Prof. Kirk hadn't counted on Superboy, who changed the
course of the planet and therefore saved Earth. Before dying, Prof. Kirk
authored a will that named Superman (the grown up Superboy) as legal guardian
of his son, if the son was ever found.

Johnny Kirk's rocket passed through a strange cosmic cloud which greatly
amplified his natural abilites; he put his powers to good use growing up on a
primitive planet.

Years later, Johnny made his way back to Earth, where he met Superman, who,
per the arrangemetns made in Prof Kirk's will, adopted him. Johnny Kirk, with
his amazing powers, becames Superman, Junior!

Continued tomorrow...

Mikel MidnightMember

posted October 13, 2002 11:21 AM

GROOBLE MAN

"The Secret Origin of Grooble Man" appeared in an issue of PLOP, idea
by John Jacobson, script by Steve Skeates, art by Sergio Aragones.

In an ordinary suburban dwelling, an ordinary man (unnamed) reads an
ancient text and finds the magic word "Grooble", which when spoken, grants
him super strength for exactly 62.4 seconds. He dons a costume and goes
forth to battle crime.

Unfortunately, the criminals notice his repeated use of the word
'Grooble' and one of them says it himself, acquiring powers and becoming
Super-Criminal. As does the bank guard, who becomes Super Bank Guard. As
do the bystanders who become Super Housewife, etc., etc., and eventually the
whole bank erupts in a super-powered brawl.

Eventually, Grooble Man leaves, disgruntled, and decides next time to go
looking for a magic potion.

I'm not sure what Earth this is compatible with, even Earth-12, as I
have a feeling that Grooble Man's world is soon to be destroyed as use of
the word spreads and the entire planet becomes involved in superbattles.

PLOP also featured two characters who never received origins:

Klark Klerk was a supermarket clerk in love with checkout girl Lois
Cane, who could become the mighty Supermarket Man, and who foiled at least
one robbery.

Fenton Cole, known as "The Crusader", was a noncostumed detective who
would actually bear reviving. His one case has him defeating Thurston Maw,
"The Fanatic", a genius criminal, in Maw's attempt to steal the art
collection of Eliot Harlanson, one of the richest men in the world.

XanadudeMember

posted October 14, 2002 11:17 PM

Superman, Junior (continued)...

Superman relished his role as foster father, even outfitting Johnny in a
modified Superboy outfit.

His joy was offset by a strange occurance -- it seemed every time he
used one of his super powers, he LOST it. He chalked it up to age; and
resolved to train Superman, Jr. to take his place. Disguising himself with
gray hair and a mustache, Superman and Superman Junior moved to Smallville and
began life as father and son. As more and more of his powers began to
fade, Superman grew more determined to fully train Superman Junior before
his powers completely faded.

Unfortunately, with all of his powers (save for flight) gone, Superman
was totally unprepared for what happened next: Superman Junior spotted a
glowing Kryptonite meteor hurtling toward Earth, and sped off to stop it.
Superman, worried that the meteor may strip Junior of his powers, uses his
last ounce of powers to follow him into space. Once there, he discovered
it WASN'T kryptonite, but a strange, rare metal which, "as fate would
have" was able to leech all of Junior's powers into Superman. Junior was
now a normal boy, and Superman was back to his super-self. Superman bid
Johnny a fond farewell to resume his previous life, and Johnny began his
as a normal Earth boy.

The story originally appeared in ACTION COMICS #232 and was reprinted
in BEST OF DC DIGEST #25.

I always wondered what happened to Johnny. I mean, he grew up on
another planet with apparently NO guidance and, once he lost his powers,
Superman essentially abandoned him. Wouldn't that make for a rather
anti-social personality?

Koppy McFadMember

posted October 26, 2002 03:51 AM

Here's an "obscure" character whose appearance in DC Comics has been sadly
overlooked:

BENEDICT ARNOLD

It was BATMAN FAMILY #1, published in 1975, as excitement over the
coming Bicentennial was growing.

It had a clever story by Elliot S! Maggin and fantastic art by Mike
Grell. And in many ways, it was the first sign of the Dick Grayson-Barbara
Gordon romance that has since blossomed in other comics.

The story opens in Washington D.C. where Congresswoman Barbara Gordon
is appearing in a documentary on American history. Dick Grayson, on
vacation from Hudson University, is working as her aide.

Just as she is recounting Benedict Arnold's betrayal, a mannequin of
Arnold comes to life and starts hacking up the TV cameras with his sword.
Dick and Babs (who still don't know each other's secret identities)
change to Robin and Batgirl. But Robin finds Arnold can shrug off his
acrobatic kicks (Robin: "You're like a stone wall.", Arnold: "That was
another general.") and Arnold teleports out of Batgirl's lasso.

He later reappears in the city, leading an army of Redcoats and
accompanied by a silent figure in a red suit. Batgirl and Robin confront
him and are captured. Arnold puts them on display in a deathtrap where
each of the two can throw a switch that will free the other -- but will
kill him/herself. Of course, being heroes, they both pull the switches
simultaneously -- and still manage to escape in a wonderfully drawn Grell
sequence.

A panicked Arnold says he was supposed to break their wills. The man in
red tells Arnold he has one last chance to beat them. The man in red
equips all the parties with rapiers and a swordfight breaks out.

Robin and Batgirl hold their own until finally, they (accidentally)
reach the safety of a church. The man in red now reveals that he is the
Devil, and he let Arnold out of Hell just to give him a chance to break the
will of America's defenders so their souls could be his. But Arnold failed
so he is sent screaming back to Hell.

As the story closes, Robin gives Batgirl a friendly kiss on the cheek,
and counsels her to leave the heroics to the veterans. In response,
Batgirl strikes a coy pose, then grabs Robin and plants a kiss on his
lips. Robin swings away with a strange smile on his face.

Later in the series, they would acknowledge that 18 year-old Robin,
despite having a girlfriend in college, had a deep attraction to
25 year-old Batgirl but both had trouble admitting it.

It was only after Lori, Dala, Starfire, and Batgirl's being crippled,
that they finally hooked up.

In his appearance, Benedict Arnold had vague magical powers. His main
weapon was a flaming, lightning-firing sword, but apparently all these
powers and abilities were granted by the Devil.

Koppy McFadMember

posted November 09, 2002 04:56 AM

Okay, how about someone doing "Cap's Hobby Hints"? Was Cap a grown-up geek
or a well-rounded man who just happened to be good with scale models?
Where was the store located? How well is it doing now? Is it just filled
with Japanese robots today?

Seriously, was that strip ever taken seriously or was it just a
page-filler if DC couldn't get enough ads? Back then, I always assumed DC
had a strong following among the model making set, but now...

taz_19632000Member

posted November 09, 2002 05:35 AM

Here are 2 characters that are relatively easy because they are also new to
the DCU:

1) Faith from JLA.

2) All-Star from JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES.

Also, would like to agree that we could use a new Global Guardians.

Jailbreak Jack RosieMember

posted November 09, 2002 12:22 PM

Ah, the funniest and timeliest of threads!

I second the Global Guardians new entry and ask information on
the Cossack, the 50's Bat character. Batman analogue? Soviet super robot?
Help!

outpost2Member

posted November 23, 2002 10:26 PM

The following is part one of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
entry. Anyone familiar with the Masters of the Universe know of the
discrepencies between the mini-comic toy inserts, the different cartoon
series, and the assorted comic book series. I tried to meld them all
together, with emphasis on the 1980's cartoon. Anyone who has seen the new
He-Man cartoon on Cartoon Network will notice subtle differences. The
following text is a combination of information from the original series'
bible, various MOTU web sites, and other miscellaneous sources.

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

************************************************************

Eternia and Infinita

Beyond the farthest galaxies, beyond the limits of our universe, lies
another place -- a place of magic, myth, sorcery, and science. Through the
cosmic clouds spins a solar system with a Type Three star, twinkling in
the ether of interstellar space. About the star rotate worlds
inconceivable to mere mortal minds. They are populated by demons and
demigods, sorcerers and sybils, men and women imbued with the powers of
good and evil.

One of these planets shined blue-green with a mantle of clear air and
fleecy clouds. A globe of everlasting beauty and great diversity, this
world, Eternia, represented a microcosm of all the universe's inhabited
planets.

While Eternia rolled peacefully through the heavens, drama played
itself out on another world within the same solar system. Unknown and
unseen by Eternia, its orbit is precisely the same and always lies
directly opposite, perpetually shielded by Eternia's sun. Not only is the
planet physically opposite Eternia, its people and their purpose are
diametrically opposed as well. This planet, Infinita, holds the sum total
of all the universe's evil. Always at war, it's foreboding, dark
inhabitants have been held in check only by their own fiendishness. Their
powers built war machines of incredible destructiveness. Infinita's
charred surface bears mute testament to the constant battle of one vile
force with another.

One day, two of the greatest opposing forces on Infinita faced each
other across the Dunes of Doom -- made black and unwholesome by the
constant battles waged by the dark powers. Both sides believed they could
win the war -- the final armageddon -- for they were the only ones left on
Infinita. Both sides held in their hands the ultimate weapon of desolation
to be thrust at the enemy before the foe retaliated. Both sides guessed
wrong. The triggers snapped at exactly the same moment and seconds later a
cataclysmic explosion tore through the planet, leaving in its wake
poisonous gas, flaming mountains, and a race of people whose mutated genes
would determine their future. The explosion created one other phenomena --
a Space Portal leading directly to Eternia.

Several of the most horrendous leaders of Infinita hurtled through the
portal, and when they found themselves in the midst of a lush, fertile,
peaceful land they swore it would be conquered. Slyly and slowly, they
infiltrated Eternia's society until the day when they attempted to mount
an invasion. Their troops rode through the Space Portal and all the
weapons within the Hall of Wisdom came to the fore. After many long
battles, Eternia drove back the Infinitans and they sealed the Space
Portal. But the Elders knew they couldn't keep evil from the planet any
longer.

The Council Of Elders

Zodac, the wise leader of the Council of Elders, called to the stars
for advice. In a shimmering, gleaming beam, a figure appeared out of the
cosmos -- the figure of an elegant and beautiful woman adorned in snake
shaped armor and bearing a twisted snake-headed staff. For centuries
Eternia dwelt without fear, the Sorceress told them, and now the time of
testing fell upon the planet. For too long the Council had made all
decisions; Their people had lost the ability to think for themselves. The
time had arrived to cut the umbilical cord and permit Eternia the right to
exist on its own.

The Council listened to the vision, which promised them that if ever
the forces of evil should try overcoming Eternia, a champion would arise
to defend the planet. A champion not seen in all the universe. A being so
powerful and filled with good that evil, no matter how mighty, could not
stand against him. However, with all the champion's virtue, he needed one
more element to make him the ultimate ruler of the Universe -- he required
the collective wisdom of the Elders. And that he would not have until he
proved himself against the dark forces.

There lay the danger. For if the evil powers discovered the secret --
this key to destiny -- they might destroy all that is harmonious in
Eternia. Once that occurred light would go out all over the planet and it
could end with the same fate as Infinita.

Castle Grayskull

Zodac gathered the Council of Elders in the Hall of Wisdom and
collectively they concentrated their mind force until the sheer power of
their consciousness created a mighty force field. At that moment, an
implosion cracked through the corridors of the Hall and the Council
disappeared in a blinding flash of energy. Only Zodac retained his human
form, as one of Eternia's guardians. In the Council's place existed a mass
of light at once denser than the densest material in the universe and as
light as a ghost. It rose to the topmost parapet of the Hall of Wisdom,
where the Spirit of the Council looked to the far horizon -- past the
Evergreen Forest; beyond the Vine Jungle; above and through the Ice
Mountains to the sealed Space Portal. It knew that one day an Infinitan
would discover how to break the spell. That evil person would search the
magnificent Hall of Wisdom. The Spirit, along with Zodac, determined that
it would not be found -- at least not in its present state.

A great aura of energy burst forth from the mass of light which had
been the Council of Elders. It surrounded the Hall of Wisdom and an
astonishing shuddering and shimmering arose as the very air around the
Hall glowed with a cosmic light. Anyone witnessing the experience would
have seen an incredible sight -- almost mirage-like, the Hall's very
atomic structure shifted; the molecules seemed to run wild as the building
changed form. The wisdom of that which once was the Council understood
that the demons of Infinita would look for the magnificent edifice
embodying all that it wise and good. But if they saw a dark and forbidding
place they might go aside. The wisdom of the Council planned to hide the
once beautiful hall behind the rocks, trees, and overgrowth of the
Evergreen Forest. When the atoms and molecules slowed, the Hall of Wisdom
ceased to exist. In its place stood the dark, green, crenelated fortress
of Castle Grayskull. Its craggy towers and black windows looked out upon
Eternia. The most striking feature of the castle was the entrance. The
portal had the face of a skull. The skull's lower jaw created a jawbridge,
and anyone wishing to enter had to have immense courage. Behind these
walls and within the corridors of Grayskull dwelt the wisdom transformed
into the Spirit of Grayskull. The Sorceress remained, guarding the castle
against all intruders. Zodac would sail the universe, keeping watch over
Eternia, keeping vigilance over those who believed in virtue and wisdom,
but not interfering with the natural course of events. Thus did Castle
Grayskull slowly subside out of sight and the minds of all Eternians
except as myth and legend.

The Royal Family and the Man-At-Arms

Eternia's society, once egalitarian and so used to being ruled by a
wise council, yearned for a leader, someone to guide them through the
troubled times. Thus a king, selected by the people from among the wisest
on the planet, was chosen to rule. His descendants would reign for
hundreds of years, providing leadership, wisdom, gallantry, and chivalry.

Some of the devices created by the old science and magic remained and
these were used for transportation and hunting. Only one family had the
secret of invention handed down from generation to generation. They were
warned to use the knowledge judiciously until it was needed in defense of
Eternia. Each generation had its own Man-At-Arms, skilled in the practical
and mystical arts of forge and machine -- able to create devices of war as
well as those of peace.

The Sorceress (Teelina)

Centuries after the establishment of Castle Grayskull, a woman named
Kodak Ungor was appointed as the latest Sorceress, mystic guardian of
Castle Grayskull. As the time approached for her too to find a worthy
successor, Kodak Ungor eyed a young girl name Teelina, a kind and caring
young woman. One day, Teelina's village was seized by Morgoth's evil
servants. Teelina feared that the evil ones would take over all of
Eternia, so she ventured out in a search for the mystical castle. Teelina
traveled to the Wastelands, just as an ancient riddle had suggested, but
she did not find anything there. Tired from her journey, Teelina fell to
the ground, calling out for someone to help her people. Suddenly, a castle
appeared in front of her... Castle Grayskull. Teelina entered and was
greeted by Kodak Ungor. The Sorceress told Teelina that she had been
observing her for some time, and asked what had finally brought her to the
castle. Teelina explained that her village was under attack by invaders
and that she feared that all of Eternia would fall to them if they weren't
stopped. The Sorceress offered the girl a bargain. She told Teelina that
she would be given all the power that she needed to help her people, but
only if she would agree to become the new Sorceress. Teelina accepted, and
Kodak Ungor proclaimed "Then, by the power of Grayskull, let it be done!".
Teelina was then told to enter the Pool of Power, whereupon she was
transformed into a falcon. Teelina then concentrated and transformed
herself back to human form. Kodak Ungor declared "From this day on, you
shall ever be the Sorceress".

King Randor and Queen Marlena

In another universe, an event took place which had become almost
prosaic. A space shuttle was about to be launched from the third planet of
a minor solar system on the edge of an insignificant galaxy called the
Milky Way. The shuttle pilot, Marlena Glenn, a young, attractive, and
brilliant scientist, donned her space suit and climbed into the pilot
seat. Many changes had taken place since the early shuttle flights leaped
into space, piggy-backed to three enormous solid fuel rockets. Now the
shuttle taxied down a runway using ordinary jet engines. Once it reached
the edge of the stratosphere, its own boosters cut in, sending the craft
into deep space, where its ion-drive engines took over for the almost
speed-of-light trip to the other planets.

As the shuttle rumbled down the runway, Marlena could not have known or
foreseen the coming events. The cataclysmic explosion on Infinita had been
traveling through the void for a thousand years, and now it approached the
edge of another universe just as the space shuttle's ion engines hummed to
life. The craft aimed its nose at Europa, one of Jupiter's asteroids. With
the ion-engines forcing the shuttle to move to the limit of endurable
speed, Europa came within view in only a few days. Marlena placed the
craft in orbit around the moon and plotted the landing pattern. Suddenly,
the shock wave from Infinita tore away at the very fabric of space. The
ship was driven out of its orbit, cartwheeled toward a rip in space, and
fell through the interspace void, only to reappear in the sky above
Eternia.

Marlena staggered to her feet and lurched to the captains chair. Little
time remained to brood as the shuttle shot into the Eternian Ionsphere
glowing red, yellow, and white. She nosed the craft up and bounced off the
layer of air, slowing the vehicle for a smoother re-entry. Marlena
couldn't spot any runways for the shuttle, so she aimed the ship at the
only clear spot she saw -- a long meadow in a lush, green valley. The
space craft hit the ground, its landing gear crumpled on impact, and it
sank to its belly skidding, pitching, and crashing to a wrenching stop.
Unconscious, Marlena couldn't know the helping hands pulling her out of
the wreckage and carrying her to the royal palace of the reigning king of
Eternia, the young and handsome Randor.

For several days Marlena slept in the palace, and each day Randor sat
by her bedside and waited for her to awaken. All the royal physicians and
wizards provided potions and spells in order to insure her well-being and
soon color stirred in Marlena's cheeks. On the seventh day, her eyes
fluttered open and the first sight she saw was Randor's rugged, handsome
face. A spark flew between them as he reached out his fingers to touch her
hand and they both smiled.

King Randor made Marlena his queen, and three years later she bore two
heirs to the throne of Eternia -- a son, Prince Adam, and a daughter,
Adora.

Man-At-Arms (Duncan) and Teela

At the moment Prince Adam was born, the current Man-At-Arms, Duncan,
heir to the secrets of weaponry and invention, strode through the
Evergreen Forest searching for rare herbs which he used as the base for a
special sword-tempering oil. He heard a rushing and flapping sound over
his head and, when he looked up, he saw an immense falcon circling
overhead. Man-At-Arms crouched behind a tree and waited until the colossal
bird settled on a nearby crag. The falcon opened its curved beak and
seemed to call out. Then the warrior heard another voice -- as if speaking
within his mind. "Man-At-Arms," it cried softly, "come to Zoar, the
Falcon". The soldier looked into the bird's black pupils and saw within
them the Sorceress' image.

The Sorceress explained to Man-At-Arms that he had been chosen for a
very special mission. Some time after becoming the Sorceress, Teelina had
met a great warrior who gave his life so that Eternia could have peace.
Soon afterward, she bore a daughter, Teela. This infant was destined to
become the next Sorceress. Man-At-Arms was to take the baby and raise and
train her alongside Prince Adam, promising never to reveal Teela's true
heritage until Teelina deemed it safe to do so. As Zoar spread its
expansive wings and flew off, Man-At-Arms stood silent staring at the
disappearing shape of the titanic falcon. A cry rose from the rocks and
the soldier clambered up to find the baby girl just as he'd been told.

Princess Adora

Shortly after the birth of Princess Adora, a group called the Horde
invaded Eternia. After they were defeated by King Randor’s forces, their
leader Hordak kidnapped Adora in revenge. Hordak’s pupil, Skeletor,
betrayed him and revealed to his enemies the location of the secret Horde
base on Eternia, a place called Snake Mountain. The Sorceress and
Man-At-Arms arrived to rescue Princess Adora, but Hordak fled to another
world, Etheria, through a portal. When no could find the Princess, the
Sorceress used her magic to erase the memory of Adora from everyone's mind
except the King, the Queen, and Man-At-Arms.

Skeletor (Keldor)

After Hordak’s escape, Skeletor took over Snake Mountain and made it
his center of operations. With his old mentor out of the way, Skeletor
plotted to take over Eternia for himself. Castle Grayskull, the source of
great power, is often the target of his attacks. Unbeknownst to anyone,
Skeletor is actually Keldor, the long-lost brother of King Randor,
transformed into his mishapen form while dabbling with black magic.

Prince Adam

Prince Adam and Teela grew up together under the tutelage of
Man-At-Arms. Adam often got into trouble by trying out weapons and ground
sleds before he knew how to use them. Many a bruise was dealt him in
crashes and crackups, causing Teela to look upon him as something of a
scatterbrain. Teela frequently became angry at Adam, for she thought their
instruction was somber business. She knew that Adam would someday be king,
and he certainly wasn't acting like royalty. Where Teela studied seriously
and fervently learned the skills of battle, Adam played, joked, and poked
fun at his teachers. That's not to say he wasn't a good student. On the
contrary, for all his playfulness he received excellent grades, and
learned to wield a sword, bow and arrow, and photon gun. King Randor and
Queen Marlena cast uneasy eyes over Adam's pranks as well. The time would
come, they thought, when he'd put away childish ideas and realize his
destiny, but it appeared that might take a very long while.

Cringer

When he was a boy, Prince Adam discovered an injured tiger cub in the
hills of Eternia. He took the cub back to the palace, where Man-At-Arms
tended to it's wounds. The cub became Prince Adam's pet and followed him
wherever he went. Unfortunately, the cub was afraid of everything, and
soon earned the name Cringer. The Sorceress of Grayskull contacted Adam
and told him not to be embarrassed by his pet, for one day Cringer would
play a very important role in his life.

Orko of Trolla

The wizard named Orko was accidentally transported to Eternia from the
world called Trolla when a fierce storm hit the Tar Swamp. The storm
caused a temporary portal to open between Eternia and Trolla, which pulled
Orko through it. The portal then closed, leaving him trapped in Eternia.
Orko wandered through the Tar Swamp until he heard the cries of a young
boy. He investigated and discovered that the boy and his pet were trapped
in the tar. Orko, knowing that they would perish without immediate
assistance, pulled out his magic medallion and used it's great power to
rescue them. Orko returned with the boy, Prince Adam, and his pet,
Cringer, to their home in the Royal Palace. Orko was invited by the Royal
Family to remain at the Palace, an offer he gladly accepted.

He-Man (Prince Adam)

For years, Skeletor and his evil forces plotted and planned on how to
invade Eternia. On Adam’s and Teela's eighteenth birthdays, they
succeeded. A great feast was taking place within the walls of the palace.
Teela sat with her father, Man-At-Arms, while King Randor and Queen
Marlena looked anxiously at the chamber door waiting for Adam's
appearance. Queen Marlena requested that Teela find Adam and remind him of
the celebration and his duty to his people. Teela objected, but
Man-At-Arms' stern glance convinced her to do as she was told. Teela
almost forcibly dragged Adam back to the festal chamber and all the court
rose and cheered the young Prince who one day would rule Eternia. He sat
between his parents and proposed a toast. Afterward, King Randor announced
that in celebration of Teela's birthday, and in honor of her strength and
prowess with weapons, she would be named Captain of the Royal Guard. All
of a sudden the palace shook as if an earthquake rolled across the land.
Everyone paused and waited for the aftershock, but none came. The king
bade the people to continue feasting. Only Man-At-Arms seemed ill at ease
and Adam saw it in his eyes.

Just then, a voice spoke to Man-At-Arms, a voice he hadn't heard in
eighteen years. It was the voice of the Sorceress. Man-At-Arms turned to
Adam and grabbed him by the arm. They had to leave immediately and no one
must know where they were going. Once outside, Man-At-Arms told Adam they
were headed for Castle Grayskull. Adam laughed and questioned Grayskull’s
existence, claiming it was merely part of Eternia's mythology. An immense
shadow passed overhead as Zoar the falcon skimmed the very treetops.
Man-At-Arms pointed skyward, stating that the falcon was their guide. They
followed and were eventually led to the legendary castle. The two men
entered and were greeted by the Sorceress, who informed them that the
forces of evil were invading Eternia, and that it was time for a new hero
to emerge to protect the realm.

The Sorceress showed Adam to the Sword of Power. She told him it was
his destiny to become the defender of Eternia. The prince backed off,
shaking his head. The Sorceress’ voice poured forth like a trumpet,
instructing him to take the sword. With a pounding heart Adam reached out
a steady hand ready to retreat in a moment. He didn't have to grasp the
hilt for it floated gently into his palm. The grip felt as if it had been
molded to his hand. It was as light as a feather and seemed to shine
brighter as he held it. Adam looked questioningly at the Sorceress.
Standing straight and tall, Adam demanded to know how he, a mere mortal,
could accomplish all the things desired by the Sorceress. She told him to
raise the sword above his head and call out the words “By the power of
Grayskull!”. Adam lifted the sword to the heavens and shouted the words. A
blazing, brilliant, flaring burst of light illuminated the room.
Man-At-Arms shielded his eyes from the incredible white blast of energy.
The prince was obliterated from sight, except for the Sword of Power which
seemed suspended over the spot where Adam stood. The light faded and, when
Man-At-Arms opened his eyes, an awesome vision stood in place of the
prince. This was He-Man, champion of Eternia, bearer of all Eternia's
virtue.

He-Man and Man-At-Arms quickly returned to the palace, only to find it
under attack by Skeletor’s minions. He-Man joined with King Randor’s
warriors, battling back the invading army. Skeletor, who was unprepared
for this powerful and unexpected reinforcement, retreated back to Snake
Mountain with his invasion force, vowing to return.

Battlecat (Cringer)

Not long afterward, during an archeological expedition in the Tecon
Jungle, Adam once again transformed into He-Man, unaware that Cringer had
tagged along. When He-Man spotted his pet tiger, he pointed the Sword of
Power at his terrified friend. A blast of energy lept forth from the
sword, changing Cringer into the mighty Battlecat. From that day forward,
Battlecat would become a valuable ally to He-Man, much to Cringer’s
dismay.

She-Ra (Princess Adora)

Prince Adam is summoned to Castle Grayskull by the Sorceress, who sends
him on an urgent mission to the world of Etheria. She gives him the Sword
of Protection, a sword which closely resembles his own Sowrd of Power, and
tells him that he must find its owner, whose identity she cannot reveal.
Accompanied by Cringer, Adam goes to Etheria, where he learns of the Great
Rebellion, whose aim is to overthrow the planet's dictatorial rulers, the
Horde. Adam soon finds himself caught up in the conflict and transforms to
He-Man. He is attacked by the Horde's ruthless force captain, Adora, but
is shocked when the sword glows in her presence.

He-Man is ultimately captured by the Horde. As the Rebels set out to
rescue him, the imprisoned He-Man learns that Adora, who has taken
possession of the sword, has been tricked since birth into believing the
Horde are the rightful rulers of Etheria. He-Man tells her to go out and
see the world, to find for herself just how evil the Horde really are. She
is skeptical of him, but agrees to do so.

He-Man is soon rescued from his prison cell by the rebels, but he
quickly sets out to find Adora to see if she has learned the truth about
the Horde. Unfortunately, Adora is now being prevented from turning
against the Horde through magical means. When He-Man finally finds her,
she arrests him.

However, that night, Adora's sleep is interrupted by a telepathic
communication from the Sorceress, who reveals to her that she was
kidnapped from her parents as a baby by Hordak and the Horde, who brought
her up to follow their evil ways. She is also informed that the mighty
He-Man is her twin brother, who she must now save. Adora uses the Sword of
Protection to become She-Ra, Princess of Power, and sets out to rescue
He-Man and foil Hordak's latest scheme.

After freeing He-Man, She-Ra reveals to him that she is his sister.
He-Man is amazed and confused, having never known he had a sister, so he
calls upon the Sorceress to explain the whole story to the both of them.
The Sorceress explains that Adam and Adora were born to the King and Queen
of Eternia as twins, but that Adora was kidnapped by Hordak and brought to
Etheria. The Sorceress had used her magic to erase the memory of Adora
from everyone's mind except the King, the Queen, and Man-At-Arms. When
Adora's whereabouts were finally traced, the Sorceress sent Adam to find
her.

Princess Adora briefly returns to Eternia to become reunited with her
parents, but decides that her place is on Etheria, fighting against the
Horde forces alongside the Rebellion.

To be continued.

outpost2Member

posted December 05, 2002 08:09 PM

THE INTERPLANETARY VIGILANTES

ADVENTURE COMICS #237 (June 1957)
"The Robot War Of Smallville"

Following an out-of-town mission, Superboy returns to Smallville and
discovers that Lana Lang has been replaced by a robot duplicate. He checks
on her father, Professor Lang, and learns that he too is a robot. When
Superboy questions the Professor Lang robot about what is going on, the
robot replies that it is a secret. Utterly baffled, Superboy rushes home
to confide in his parents, the Kents. They reveal that they too are
robots. The Pa Kent robot states that they are forbidden to tell Superboy
what is going on. Fearing some fantastic criminal scheme, Superboy heads
to the police station to contact the police chief, but discovers that the
entire force has been replaced by robots. He soon realizes that all of
Smallville is now composed of robots.

Superboy soon spots a building fire, but before he can act a Superboy
robot arrives and puts out the flames. Superboy confronts his robot
doppelganger, who reveals that all the residents of Smallville have been
replaced, except for Clark Kent, who he knows to be Superboy. When
Superboy presses the robot to reveal the mastermind behind this plot, it
attacks him, stating that Superboy must leave the town immediately. The
robot has been ordered to drive Superboy out if ever he appeared. Superboy
retaliates, so the robot Superboy calls upon the other robots to help him
drive Superboy out of town. Superboy soon finds himself facing an army of
robots. He resists battling their combined might for fear of damaging the
town, instead he begins to systematically disable them one-by-one.

As he destroys the Ma Kent robot, she pleads with Superboy to leave
Smallville for his own sake, that he doesn't understand why they are
fighting him. After Superboy knocks off the robot's head, he comes up with
what he believes is a likely theory... some enemy from outer space must be
planning to invade Earth! He postulates that the true residents of
Smallville have been imprisoned in an underground cave as hostages. Having
only destroyed half of the robots so far, Superboy forms a giant magnet
and collects and disables the rest, saving the destruction of the Superboy
robot for last.

With the immediate threat eliminated, Superboy heads to the Kent's
General Store, hoping his father has left some kind of clue. As he scans
the shelves with his x-ray vision, Superboy comes to a sudden realization.
He finally understands why there were no people in town, only robots.
Superboy quickly concludes that the Ma Kent robot's words were true, that
he was indeed in danger. As he speeds away from Smallville, he spots an
incoming super-bomb. The bomb strikes Smallville, annihilating the town.
Luckily, Superboy had noticed that the bomb contained kryptonite, which
would most certainly have destroyed him. In order to protect himself from
the scattered bits of the deadly mineral, Superboy bores deep under the
town, digging innumerable tunnels until the entire town collapses into the
ground. Superboy is certain that Smallville was the intended target of the
super-bomb, and had realized just in time that someone had built a
duplicate town to fool the bombers into striking the wrong area. The real
Smallville is still intact, hidden safely under a patch of fog miles away
from the blast site.

Superboy heads into space to search for both those responsible for the
dummy town and those responsible for the super-bomb. He spots a flying
saucer, but is unsure whether they are friend or foe. The crew of the
saucer announce that they are his friends, and invite Superboy aboard the
ship to meet... the Interplanetary Vigilantes. Once aboard,
Superboy hears an astounding story.

For ages, the Interplanetary Vigilantes have policed space, aiding
worlds. With Superboy on the job, they never had to worry about Earth
before. But recently, a menace arose that only they alone could handle. An
outlaw world had singled out Earth for invasion. It had taken the outlaws
two lifetimes to perfect their super-bomb, loaded with kryptonite meteors
that they had found in space. They only had enough material to build a
single bomb, but it would be enough to destroy Superboy. The outlaws’
telescopic tv studies of Earth proved that Superboy lived in Smallville,
which became the target of their super-bomb. Once Superboy was
annihilated, they could invade Earth with ease.

Learning of the enemy’s plans, the Interplanetary Vigilantes had to
work fast. They believed that if they told Superboy of the danger, he
would flee, but his home town would still be destroyed. They knew that
nobody would be able to stop the super-bomb once it was launched. Speeding
to Earth the night before, they utilized their super-science apparatus to
fool the enemy with an old trick. First, they covered Smallville itself
under a thick chemical fog, lasting 24 hours, hiding the town from the
enemy's telescopic sights. Then, miles away, they turned to their
molecular mist duplicator machine. The machine generated a mist which
solidified, under electrophotic controls, into an exact replica of
Smallville, down to the last details. The enemy world would detect no flaw
through its super-telescope. Finally, the human-like robots perfected the
illusion. At dawn, the enemy would aim the super-bomb at the false
Smallville. The robot Superboy was instructed to drive the real Superboy
out of town if he showed up by accident.

By the time Superboy had arrived in Smallville, the bomb was already on
its way, thus it didn't matter when he later smashed the robots. The plan
had already succeeded in saving Smallville, but Superboy was still in
danger. The Vigilantes question Superboy as to what made him leave in time
to save himself. Superboy reveals that he had detected one small flaw in
their clever replica. When he used his x-ray vision in the General Store,
he discovered that all the cans and packages were empty. He concluded that
the whole town was phony, just like the dummy towns the Nazis had built in
World War II to fool Allied bombers. Then, remembering the warning of the
Ma Kent robot, he realized a bomb must be coming. The Vigilantes are
relieved that Superboy’s wits saved him in time. They inform the young
hero that they must now go and arrest the outlaws, so Superboy says his
farewells and heads back to Earth.

Superboy returns to the real Smallville and relates the entire tale to
his astonished parents. When Pa Kent questions how the Vigilantes knew of
Superboy's secret identity, Superboy realizes he had forgotten to ask
them, but he is certain the secret is safe with them. He figures the
Interplanetary Vigilantes will never have to return and help Earth, at
least not while he is around.

puffdoggydaddyMember

posted December 07, 2002 01:22 AM

Originally posted by Justin Slotman:

I finally picked up the Forgotten Heroes/Forgotten Villains issues
of DC COMICS PRESENTS and am shocked to find no entry on this list for
Yggadris, The Living Planet. Somebody who knows the DCU better than me
can maybe do an entry on this, er, being -- I'm assuming if he was a
Forgotten Villain this wasn't his first appearance.

I checked my trusty WHO’S WHO, but the only mention of Yggardis is
in the ‘Forgotten Villains’ entry. He is listed as a sorcerer who, along with
Kraklow, an 18th century Polish mystic, and the Enchantress, were the focus
of the Forgotten Villains plans in their appearance in DC COMICS PRESENTS
#77.

Sorry its not more. Maybe someone can track more info down somewhere.

XanadudeMember

posted December 09, 2002 05:30 PM

Since DEADMAN got cancelled (and I never read it in the first place), I
heard somewhere that Onyx was involved in that series -- was she??

And whatever happened to the Unimaginable, from the JLofA?

outpost2Member

posted December 09, 2002 11:29 PM

The Unimaginable last appeared in VALOR #5-10. I already have those issues
summarized. If you have a list of his (its?) other appearances, I'll try
my hand at a complete write-up.

XanadudeMember

posted December 10, 2002 02:48 PM

I don't have the appearances, but I've read about them in the various JLofA
indices... apparently before those VALOR appearances he (it?) only
appeared in two early issues of Fox's JLofA -- the one where Metamorpho says
“No” and the follow-up story several issues later.

THE UNIMAGINABLE
First Appearance: Justice League Of America #42 (February 1966)

The strange energy life-form known only as the Unimaginable cannot be
seen by human eyes, its real shape unknown. Bored with existence, the
Unimaginable left its native planet and traveled through space, exploring
several other worlds and gathering various life-forms along the way.
Arriving on Earth, it saw the JLA in action and decided that it wanted to
join the team. However, the Justice Leaguers refused the Unimaginable's
demands, and the Unimaginable attacked, first with several of the alien
creatures it had gathered, then in the body of one of them, a Doctor
Bendorion. The JLA defeated the Unimaginable both times and imprisoned it.

Years later, the Unimaginable returned in outer space, battling the
Green Lantern named Alia, whom it had previously encountered and wanted
revenge on. The Daxamite hero Valor saved Alia and seemingly disintegrated
the Unimaginable with a burst of laser vision.

YGGARDIS
First Appearance: Mystery In Space #60 (June 1960)

Yggardis is a sentient, tentacled planet that scours other worlds for
life forms to populate it -- which die within 24 hours of the
transplantation. Originally thwarted by Adam Strange, Yggardis later
joined (on a long-distance-basis) the Enchantress' team of Forgotten
Villains, who battled the Forgotten Heroes and Superman.

Not much, but maybe something to begin with...

/ola

dataloreMember

posted December 17, 2002 04:05 PM

AN Onyx (an Oriental mobster with a child, who worked for the
Sensei) was in the recent DEADMAN series, but she is NOT the Onyx of Green
Arrow DETECTIVE COMICS back-ups... (who most recently appeared in WONDER WOMAN
#175...)

I think the Unimaginable was also the surprise villain in the later
issues of the SUPERMEN OF AMERICA mini-series...

(And, I was so happy a couple of years ago when I discovered that the
magical planet HAD indeed appeared before... since, it made NO sense to me
when I originally read DC COMICS PRESENTS #77-78... that EVERYONE else had
appeared before, but not him... er, it?)

Hellst0neMember

posted December 18, 2002 06:38 PM

Originally posted by datalore:

I think the Unimaginable was also the surprise villain in the later
issues of the SUPERMEN OF AMERICA mini-series...

You're right, of course. I'd forgotten that.

Long time no see, datalore. Merry Christmas in advance.

/ola

WitchWondersNew Member

posted December 22, 2002 09:08 PM

Hi, I know this one isn't as obscure as most of the characters posted so
far, but what's the story on Malice of the Female Furies? And I realize
this isn't isn't standard protocol on this board, but does someone have a
picture of her?

Hellst0neMember

posted December 30, 2002 10:05 AM

Almost a year later than I promised it... here are (finally):

THE HEROES AND VILLAINS OF ANGOR

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY:

Back in the early 1970s, in the dark ages before the birth of the
direct comics shop and bigger independent companies such as Image, the
American comics market was mainly shared between two companies - Marvel
and DC. Although these are still more-or-less considered “the Big Two”
today, this is nothing compared to their exclusive (and relatively equal,
although Marvel had just begun to out-sell their elders) status
as the important comic producers thirty years ago. The competition
between the two, was a well-known fact. Sometimes it wasn’t as friendly as
one would have imagined, but most often it was a rivalry with warm
affection. Parodies of each other’s characters were frequently seen, like
in the pages of INFERIOR FIVE where the inept heroes encountered lightly
disguised versions of Doctor Doom, the Hulk, and the X-Men, among others.

With the Squadron Sinister, Marvel attempted a little more serious
rip-off of DC. This villain team first appeared in AVENGERS #69-70, dated
October-November 1970, the creation of Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema.
Although the names and costumes of the villains were of original design,
there was never any real doubt about who the members were really supposed
to be. Hyperion, Nighthawk, Whizzer, and Doctor Spectrum were dead ringers
for Superman, Batman, the Flash, and Green Lantern.

Although members of the Squadron Sinister have returned from time to
time through the years, the real breakthrough for this parody came with
another twist on the concept. AVENGERS #85, dated February 1971, started
telling the story of a parallel universe hero team, called the Squadron
Supreme, which (naturally) had to fight the Avengers. This Squadron
consisted of true heroes and not villains, but were based on the same
concept as the Squadron Sinister. Furthermore, four of their members were
identical in name and appearance. They had a Hyperion (Superman), a
Nighthawk (Batman), a Whizzer (Flash), and a Doctor Spectrum (Green
Lantern), but had also extended their membership with Lady Lark (Black
Canary), Hawkeye (Green Arrow), American Eagle (Hawkman), and Tom Thumb
(the Atom). Although powerful, the DC parodies were defeated (and later
befriended) by the Marvel heroes, who thereby had proved whose company’s
heroes were the superior ones.

Or not. Because the very same month, something similar happened in
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #87, where another deluded team of
would-be heroes emerged from another dimension. These anti-heroes, calling
themselves the Assemblers (obviously a homage to the Avengers’ motto
“Avengers assemble!”), appeared in the DC Universe to avenge the death of
their home world and were manipulated into battling the Justice League.
Although the members weren’t quite as recognizable as the Squadron
Sinister, most Marvel fans would deduce where the designs of Wandjina
(Thor), Blue Jay (Ant-Man), Silver Sorceress (Scarlet Witch), and Jack B.
Quick (Quicksilver) came from. The League was, of course, superior to the
Assemblers, but since the latter weren’t really villains, they declared a
truce of sorts. And DC had proved that their heroes were superior to those
of their competitor.

Coincidence? Not really. The creators of AVENGERS #85 (Roy Thomas and
John Buscema) and JLofA #87 (Mike Friedrich and Dick Dillin) were
corresponding colleagues and clearly (with or without the knowledge
of their bosses and editors, I’m not sure) had done this “switch of
characters” as an in-joke. Some years later, Roy Thomas (there’s that name
again) and Bob Rozakis did just about the same thing in INVADERS #14-15
and FREEDOM FIGHTERS #7-9, where both teams fought villains called “the
Crusaders”. The Marvel Crusaders were of course parodies of DC’s Freedom
Fighters, and the DC Crusaders parodied Marvel’s Invaders. (Info about the
Crusaders can be found earlier in this very thread.)

But whereas neither of the Crusaders teams was heard from again, the
other rip-offs somehow endured. And evolved.

The Squadron Supreme in particular was positively received, and Marvel
reused the team over the years. New members based on Justice Leaguers were
added, including Power Princess (Wonder Woman), Amphibian (Aquaman),
Arcanna/Moonglow (Zatanna), the Skrullian Skymaster (Martian Manhunter),
Shape (Elongated Man), and Nuke (Firestorm). In the 1980s, they even got
their own SQUADRON SUPREME maxi-series, where their respective
personalities got more depth than ever before, and where some of the major
members were killed with almost the same emotional response as had it been
their DC counterparts. The parody had taken a life on its own.

The Squadron Supreme is still a valid concept in the Marvel Universe
(used in Kurt Busiek’s AVENGERS, for example), and quite popular at that.

The reappearance of their DC “siblings” would take a bit longer, but in
1987, sixteen years after their initial appearance, the Assemblers were
back with a vengeance. In JUSTICE LEAGUE #2, Blue Jay, Wandjina, and the
Silver Sorceress appeared on Earth to rid it of nuclear weapons and
prevent it from getting destroyed in a nuclear war like their own world.
I’m not sure whether writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis actually had
a soft spot for these obscure characters, but they fit very well into the
League stories of the time. The Assemblers’ “anti-nuclear” terrorism
agenda was a natural starting point for the recently re-formed League in
their first steps of evolving into the U.N.-funded Justice League
International.

Although this story arc didn’t do much to flesh out
the characters, the sequel called “the Extremist Vector” in JUSTICE LEAGUE
EUROPE #15-19 gave the readers so much more. Here we were invited into the
post-apocalypse world they had originated from (clearly a slightly
deranged version of the Marvel Earth) and got to know exactly why it had
been destroyed. The reason was the machinations of the utterly evil
Extremists, whose members Dreamslayer, Lord Havoc, Doctor Diehard, Gorgon,
and Tracer, were based on Marvel villains Dormammu, Doctor Doom, Magneto,
Doctor Octopus, and Sabretooth.

Following this story arc, Blue Jay and Silver Sorceress became members
of the JLE. They participated in many of the team’s adventures, including
a trip through time and space to Angor in its days of prime. This
adventure introduced us to the very nature of their universe, and several
other members of the Assemblers. Notably Bowman (Hawkeye), Tin Man (Iron
Man), and two members reminiscent of Marvel’s Wasp and Giant-Man/Goliath,
as well as cameos of other heroes with an uncanny resemblance to the likes
of Wolverine, Spiderman, and Nick Fury. (It should be noted that the
Giffen/DeMatteis team seemed to love such Marvel parodies and
continued to explore them in their later League adventures with the
introductions of General Glory (Captain America), Ernie (Bucky), the
Scarlet Skier (Silver Surfer), and Mister Nebula (Galactus) - the latter
of which was created by two Lords of Order named J’kk and St’nn...)

Some discrepancies can be found in the Assemblers stories - for reasons
unknown, the team was called the Justifyers on several occasions. Jack B.
Quick first became Captain Speed, then Johnny Quick, then Captain Speed
again. The planet Angor was never called by name in the JLI stories. And
the Assemblers’ anti-nuclear agenda was quickly forgotten.

There was also the curious case of Blue Jay becoming something of a
“gay icon” to a minor group of fans, based only on a suggestion in a
letter column that was never confirmed by DC. The rumor has endured to
this day and is regarded as a fact by some of those few readers who still
remember the character.

So - how come the Assemblers still remain so much more forgotten and
unknown than their “siblings” in Squadron Supreme? Frankly, even though
I’m a fan of the Assemblers (and especially Blue Jay), I have to admit
that the Squadron was a much more imaginative, intriguing and
well-executed concept, something that showed clearly in the popularity.
While the Squadron reappeared time and again in the Marvel Universe, their
history fleshed out and their membership evolving, the Assemblers were
largely forgotten by the time Giffen and DeMatteis reintroduced them in
the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE. Even during their glory days as members of
the Justice League, Blue Jay and Silver Sorceress often felt
under-utilized, never really getting the chance to develop as characters.
Finally, when said writers left the League books, there was seemingly no
interest left in the heroes of Angor. Dreamslayer fought a later Justice
League incarnation, and the other Extremists once popped up in SUPERGIRL,
but Blue Jay, the last survivor of the Assemblers, has not been seen since
a cameo in JLE #48. Judging by these message boards, the little guy seems
to have a small but solid fan-base, although probably not big enough to
make him return.

Maybe, however, the Squadron and the Assemblers will finally meet each
other and the characters they were based on in the long-anticipated
JUSTICE LEAGUE/AVENGERS crossover, due in 2003? Here’s hoping...

On the otherdimensional world of Angor (a planet so
much like Earth that you’d think it was a leftover from the old
Multiverse) there were hordes of super-heroes and villains, just like on
Earth. And just like on Earth, the heroes were devastatingly superior,
none more so than the planet’s premiere super-team, the Assemblers (a.k.a.
the Justifyers). Wandjina, Blue Jay, Silver Sorceress, Captain Speed,
Bowman, Tin Man, and the others never had much to worry about, their
greatest enemy being boredom. Usually beating the villains with ease, they
grew increasingly cocky about it for every victory. However, the birth of
the Extremists made them regret that. (JLE #16, JLQ #3)

The Extremists were originally five common criminals intent on stealing
a nuclear device. During their reconnaissance mission, the device
accidentally detonated with the men standing on Ground Zero. As so many
times before on Angor, the result was not death, but mutation, their minds
were damaged and their bodies endowed with powers on an extremely
destructive level. One man’s body grew so huge and disproportionate that
only a specially designed techno-armor could contain it. He became the
dreaded Lord Havoc. Another gained the ability to control magnetism
completely, christening himself Doctor Diehard. A third, growing hideous
tentacles from his head, called himself Gorgon, and a fourth became the
man/animal hybrid with enhanced senses known as Tracer. The last member of
the group did not mutate. Instead, he was thrust into another dimension.
When he returned to Angor, he was known as the Dreamslayer, a being of
enormous psychic power with a possibly demonic origin. (JLQ #3)

These five beings became a greater threat than Angor had ever seen
before. Apparently stopping at nothing, the Extremists recruited the rest
of the world’s super-villains and created an army of super-powered
criminals. The heroes of the world stood powerless as the villains took
control of the planet’s nuclear arsenals, taking the entire world of Angor
hostage and demanding that the world’s leaders gave up their power in
favor of the dictatorship of the Extremists. (JLE #16)

Around this time, four members of the Assemblers - the thunder-god
Wandjina, the enchantress known as Silver Sorceress, the speedster Jack B.
Quick, and the shrinking Blue Jay - traveled to Earth’s dimension for
reasons that are still not quite clear. At the time, it was said that they
sought the destructors of their home planet. Later, they maintained that
they had only wanted the assistance of Earth’s heroes to defeat the
Extremists. In either case, the encounter didn’t turn out too well. As so
often happens, there was a misunderstanding and the heroes fought each
other. After a strange battle involving the Justice League of America,
Zatanna, a brainwashed Batman who tried to appoint himself “king of the
universe”, an evil robot, and villains from the planet Cam-Nam-Lao, the
four Assemblers returned to their own world. (JLofA vol. 1 #87, JLE #16)

Upon their return, they were met with a horrible sight. Too late to
help anyone, they realized that the planet’s leaders had refused to give
in to the Extremists, who then had made truth of their threats. Angor was
completely ravaged by nuclear weapons. The cities lay in ruins. Most of
the inhabitants were dead, including all their friends and seemingly the
villains as well. As a last effort, the heroes attempted to be of some
assistance to the few survivors, who were nonetheless mortally injured by
radiation and continued to die one by one. Among the casualties was Jack
B. Quick/Captain Speed, who got cancer after exposing himself to the
nuclear areas. (JL #2, JLE #16)

When there was no one left to help, the three remaining Assemblers -
Wandjina, Silver Sorceress, and Blue Jay - committed themselves to a new
goal: They would prevent a disaster of this magnitude from ever happening,
ever again, anywhere in the universe. From now on, the powerful trio
traveled worlds and dimensions, visiting several planets and destroying
their arsenals of mass-destructive weapons, no matter whether the planets’
inhabitants liked it or not. (JL #2-3)

Finally, they arrived on Earth, and attempted to dismantle the world’s
nuclear stockpiles. Duped by Colonel Rumaan Harjavti, dictator of Bialya,
into attacking a Russian nuclear installation, the Assemblers were opposed
by the Rocket Red Brigade and the newly re-formed Justice League. The
fight came to an abrupt end as one of the Russian reactors experienced a
nuclear meltdown. The Assemblers, the League, the Brigade, and a large
portion of the Earth would have faced certain death, had it not been for
the intervention of Wandjina. Vowing that he would never permit a nuclear
disaster to destroy a world - any world - again, the thunder-god went into
the reactor and prevented the meltdown with his powers, in the process
imbuing his body with lethal doses of radiation. Although he had saved
their nation, the Russians took the mortally wounded Wandjina and his two
comrades into their custody. (JL #3)

Some time later, Wandjina tragically returned. Deformed by the
radiation that had imbued his body and brainwashed by the Queen Bee (II),
new leader of Bialya, he was forced to do her evil deeds as “the
Thunderer”. During a clash between the Justice League (now International)
and the Queen Bee’s minions in Bialya, the circumstances forced Captain
Atom to kill Wandjina. (JLI #16-17)

Meanwhile, Blue Jay and Silver Sorceress were still in the Russians’
custody, both struck with despair and unsure what to do next. While Blue
Jay could see no point in ever returning to their dead home world, the
Silver Sorceress was not as certain, and after months of hesitation, she
used her magic to set Blue Jay free and teleport herself to Angor once
again. (JLE #11-12)

On the dead, post-Apocalypse world of Angor, the Silver Sorceress
encountered the greatest horror she could have imagined - the Extremists,
still alive and bored after having tortured the planet’s last survivor to
death. They quickly defeated the Sorceress and were delighted to have a
new “play thing” to occupy themselves with. While probing her brain
telepathically, Dreamslayer learned about the extra-dimensional world
called Earth that she had visited. (JLE #15) Thrilled about learning of
the existence of a new dimension to abuse, the Extremists left the
Sorceress in the custody of an ally of theirs called Carny. Then
Dreamslayer used the Sorceress’ magic coordinates to transport the entire
team to Earth, specifically Moscow, the place Silver Sorceress had fled
from. (JLE #16)

Meanwhile, Blue Jay had sought asylum in the Russian JLI embassy. Its
liaison, Boris Razumihin, was intent on turning him back to the Russian
authorities without notifying the League. Thanks to Razumihin’s
assistants, the Rubikskova sisters, the European branch of the Justice
League was contacted and Metamorpho intervened and saved Blue Jay. (JLE
#13-15) At that point, however, the Extremists arrived in Moscow, thrilled
with delight to arrive on a world full of human victims, heroes, and
nuclear weapons. They severely wounded Metamorpho, killed most of the
soldiers in the Russian Rocket Red Brigade, and tortured one of the
Rubikskova sisters to death. When Justice League Europe came to the
rescue, the battle was an even one until Dreamslayer, easily the most
powerful of them all, used his powers to shut the heroes’ minds off. (JLE
#16-17)

After the defeat of the little resistance they had met, the Extremists
decided to make a re-run of their old strategy. Doctor Diehard used his
incredible magnetic power (seemingly much vaster than the ones of Earth’s
magnetic villains such as Doctor Polaris) to steal every single nuclear
device of Earth and put them in orbit around it. Taking the entire planet
hostage, the Extremists “bargained” with the United Nations and demanded
the leaders of every nation of Earth abdicate in favor of the their own
dictatorship. Choosing between this and complete destruction, the nations
of Earth temporarily accepted the Extremists as their new leaders, and
forbade the Earth’s armies and superheroes to oppose them until the time
was right. Superman, Batman, the JLA... all of them had their hands tied.
(JLE #17)

The JLE, however, had experienced their enemies firsthand and had also
learned the fate of Angor from Blue Jay. Realizing that it was just a
matter of time before the Extremists would destroy Earth as they had
Angor, they decided to attack the villains - against the orders of every
nation of Earth (“and loving every minute of it”, as Metamorpho put it).
This time, they engaged themselves more furiously into the battle, but
once again, Dreamslayer’s powers proved too much for them as he teleported
the entire JLE to the barren world of Angor. (JLE #17)

On Angor, their adventure took a bizarre turn. Arriving at an amusement
park called Wackyland, they were greeted by the Extremists ally called
Carny who violently forced them to take rides in the park’s attractions...
“forever and ever and ever”. When the JLE broke free, they were attacked
by Carny’s hundreds of employees. The Leaguers were puzzled by the
presence of so many survivors on a dead world until they realized that
they were all robots. Since their opponents were not really alive, the
heroes could unleash their powers and destroy them all without remorse.
However, in Carny’s clutches they found two real survivors. One was the
Silver Sorceress, who, although battered and weak, was still alive. The
other one emerged from a cryonic chamber, and the Silver Sorceress
immediately recognized him. Stunned, she cried out... “Uncle
Mitch??!!” (JLE #18)

“Uncle Mitch” was in fact Mitch Wacky, a famous engineer, inventor,
cartoonist, and creator of Angor’s biggest amusement park - Wackyland.
After getting infected by the flu - a lethal disease on Angor - he had put
himself into the survival chamber years before his world has been
destroyed. When the Silver Sorceress told him the fate of Angor, he
reacted with shock, since he had been totally ignorant of the tragedy. But
the Leaguers were in for still another shock when they learned that the
Extremists that now menaced Earth were not the real Extremists - those had
perished in the nuclear blasts along with the rest of the Angorians!

Interrogating the decapitated head of the robot Carny (who reacted
humbly and peacefully in the presence of Uncle Mitch), they learned what
had happened: The automatons that Mitch had left in charge of Wackyland
had survived the nuclear disaster and, unsure what to do now when no more
visitors came to their park, had started playing games themselves.
Wackyland already exhibited robot replicas of all of Angor’s heroes and
villains, and mimicking the conflicts of the real world, those androids
fought each other until only five remained - the Extremists. Mitch Wacky
was an extraordinary robot constructor, too extraordinary for his own good
since the Extremist androids were every bit as dangerous and powerful as
the originals. It was these androids who had tortured Angor’s last
survivor to death, captured the Silver Sorceress, fled to Earth, and who
now held the fate of Earth in their iron grip.

Realizing that Uncle Mitch’s presence might work to their advantage,
Captain Atom asked the Sorceress to use her magic to take them all to
Earth. They pumped Mitch’s body full of antibiotics and anaesthetics, and
then went to battle the Extremists one final time. The Captain’s plan came
just in time. The bored Extremists were now considering firing some of the
nuclear missiles, when the JLE arrived. After a short and intense fight,
Mitch appeared on the battlefield. And just as Carny had done, the
Extremist robots reacted with humility and joy, kneeling before him so he
could finally shut them off. But they were in for yet another surprise.
Dreamslayer was not deactivated - instead, he furiously eliminated Mitch
with a psychic blast. He was no robot, but the real thing.

Dreamslayer had survived the nuclear disaster of Angor, and became
furious when he found that everything he lived for - opponents to fight
and victims to torment - was gone. He comforted himself with the company
of the Extremist robots, reminiscent of his former friends, and together
they exterminated the few survivors of their world. When he discovered
Earth, he was more than happy to find a new world to plague. But now that
the JLE had destroyed everything, his twisted mind found no other options
left but to kill them all for his own amusement. Vengeful, he fired a
psychic blast at them, powerful enough to obliterate them all... Then came
the last surprise of this adventure - JLE member Crimson Fox absorbed the
blast and threw it back on Dreamslayer. The Fox turned out to be the
Silver Sorceress, disguised just to take Dreamslayer by surprise. (JLE
#19)

The threat was ended for this time. Dreamslayer’s body was burned to
ashes, Mitch Wacky’s flu was cured by Doctor Kimiyo Hoshi (a.k.a. Dr.
Light), and the Extremist robots were disarmed and eventually exhibited at
the Madame Clouseau’s Wax Museum in Paris. (JLE #19) Shortly after this,
Blue Jay and Silver Sorceress accepted membership in the JLE. (JLE #20)

Jay and the Sorceress made a short but distinctive career with the
League. They assisted against a group of reanimated gargoyles (JLA
SHOWCASE 80-PAGE GIANT #1), followed the team when they relocated to
London (JLE #21), encountered the criminal organization known as Metawise,
Inc. (JLE #23), and battled the threats of Puanteur’s giant worms (JLE
#24-25), and Starro the Conqueror (JLE #26-28). Blue Jay also participated
in the League’s fight against the powerful Mister Nebula (JLQ #2), and was
constantly hunted by Power Girl’s cat. (JLQ #3-4)

On a JLI conference, Mitch Wacky met the League’s technician, the
former Green Lantern named Kilowog. Realizing that they had much in
common, they used their collective knowledge to construct a time machine
which they used for a travel through time and space to Angor in its days
of prime. The goal? To prevent the creation of the Extremists from
happening. However, their JLI colleagues learned about their trip and were
concerned about the potential damage to the time/space continuum. A team
of Justice Leaguers, including the Silver Sorceress, used the device to
follow them.

Due to an Imskian component in the time machine, Mitch and Kilowog, as
well as the pursuing Leaguers, had shrunk to microscopic size when they
appeared on Angor, something that gave them trouble making their presence
known. After a futile attempt to alert some of the Assemblers of the
coming danger, Mitch and Kilowog decided to stop the birth of the
Extremists themselves. However, their attempt went awry and only resulted
in causing the very accident that created the Extremists in the first
place. Mitch was struck with grief and the Silver Sorceress was deeply
moved by the sight of her lost world and friends, but they both realized
that history was not supposed to be changed. (JLQ #3)

Mitch Wacky became the League’s official technical advisor, while Blue
Jay and Silver Sorceress continued to serve in the European branch of the
League. However, during the time of the Starro threat, the League’s UN
liaison Maxwell Lord was fatally shot by Bialyan terrorists and hovered
between life and death. (JLA #53).

Lord’s successor, Rolf Heimlich, re-defined the organization of the
JLI. He fired several of the members and deposed Captain Atom as the
leader of Justice League Europe. Unexpectedly (not at least to himself),
Blue Jay was appointed his successor (JLE #29). As JLE leader, Jay led his
team into Bialya on a mission that ended in the death of the Queen Bee, the
revelation that she was behind the shooting of Max Lord and that Heimlich
was an employee of hers. (JLA #54-55, JLE #30). Captain Atom was
reinstated as the leader but, following the “Armageddon incident”
(involving the JLE and the super-villain Monarch), he was lost in the
time-stream and presumed dead. (JLE ANNUAL #2, ARMAGEDDON 2001 #2) Blue
Jay was asked to reassume the leadership, but did not want it. (JLE #31)

As a result of Max Lord’s disability and the corruption of his
successor Heimlich, the UN decided to revoke their JLI sponsorship. The
entire team, including Blue Jay and Silver Sorceress, regrouped on their
own and took residence in the original JLA HQ in Happy Harbor, the
so-called “Secret Sanctuary”. (JLA #56)

After the JLI had been operating without the UN for some time, Max Lord
unexpectedly woke up from his coma. Soon, it was understood that the mind
in control of the body was not that of Max himself... but of Dreamslayer.
While most of the League were preoccupied with a fight against Despero and
Lobo, Dreamslayer in Lord’s body set up a base on the island of
KooeyKooeyKooey and forced Mitch Wacky to revive the robot Extremists. The
robots, however, were disabled since their defeat at the hands of the JLE,
and Wacky could only used their collective parts to restore the Lord Havoc
robot. Frustrated, Dreamslayer then killed Mitch Wacky in cold blood and
sent Havoc to battle the League. Havoc was now considerably weaker than
before, and the Blue Beetle, using the jets of his “Bug” vehicle,
eliminated the robot. (JLE #32-33, JLA #57-58)

Realizing Dreamslayer’s involvement in the resurrection of Lord Havoc, a
team of Leaguers went to KooeyKooeyKooey to investigate the matter.
Dreamslayer then took the island’s inhabitants hostage by inhabiting their
bodies and threatening to have them all commit suicide. The Leaguers had
no choice but to succumb to Dreamslayer’s will and were sent to battle
their teammates in Happy Harbor. However, Dreamslayer kept the Silver
Sorceress with him on the island to extract his revenge. The dying
Sorceress played one last card and challenged Dreamslayer in psychic
battle. Dreamslayer accepted and defeated the Sorceress, but to his
astonishment, he was now trapped in her dying mind, seemingly forever,
something that the Sorceress had counted on all along. The Sorceress died
with the satisfaction of ending the threat of her hated enemy. Max Lord’s
mind was returned to his body and the Silver Sorceress was put to final
rest on the island of KooeyKooeyKooey. (JLE #34-35, JLA #59)

With both the Silver Sorceress and Uncle Mitch dead, Blue Jay was now
the sole survivor of Angor. Grieving, he attempted to continue his career
with the League to honor the Sorceress’ memory. However, the League was
gradually disbanding during this time, and when the remaining members
(Blue Jay, Blue Beetle, Fire, Ice, Oberon, and Max Lord) could not even
defeat the mind of Despero in the trashed body of the little robot known
as L-Ron, their dreams were shattered and they all went their separate
ways. Blue Jay departed for places unknown. (JLA #60, JLE #36)

When Sonar (I) later threatened international peace in Russia, Blue Jay
reappeared as part of the Justice League Reserves. The Reserves were
defeated by members of the Rocket Red Brigade, and then themselves added
to Sonar’s army of brainwashed heroes. Blue Jay, however, was left behind,
unconscious but unseen by his enemies. He was found by the JLA who thus
realized what had happened. This was the last time that Blue Jay
contributed to the Justice League. (JLE #47-48) Blue Jay has been
strangely absent from super-hero gatherings and Justice League reunions,
such as the “Mageddon War”, for reasons unknown. Some rumors say he has
taken residence in Canada, but this has not been confirmed.

The villains of Angor proved a bit more long-lived than the heroes.
First to return was Dreamslayer, who was not really dead after all. When
the Silver Sorceress had died, Dreamslayer had not perished with her, but
was instead freed from his entrapment within her mind and able to flee to
the dimension where he was “born”. (This, sadly, means that the Sorceress’
sacrifice was made in vain.) From his dimension, he recruited a team of
New Extremists on Earth (Brute II, Cloudburst, Death Angel, Gunshot, and
Meanstreak) to battle the Justice League. (JLA #78-79) With the assistance
of a religious cult, he was able to reappear on Earth, but was opposed
and ultimately defeated. (JLA #86-88) The New Extremists were recruited by
the Overmaster to be part of his new Cadre, but they didn’t fare better
against the League. (JLA #89-90, JLE #65-66, JLTF #13-14)

Lord Havoc was the next to have a legacy. When Max Lord eventually
merged with the evil techno-entity known as the Kilg%re, he adopted the
name “Lord Havoc II” and took control of the criminal organization known
as the Arcana. (JLA #100) However, Lord never did much with his
semi-criminal career, and when recently seen, he had returned to normal.
(see FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE previews).

The Extremists robots also returned one more time, re-activated by the
being known as Twilight to battle Supergirl. Once again defeated, they
were shut off and returned to the Madame Clouseau’s Wax Museum. (SUPERGIRL
[4th series] #15-16)

No subsequent activities of the heroes or villains of Angor have been
reported, although Tin Man was briefly glimpsed when Booster Gold’s theme
restaurant Planet Krypton was haunted by “ghost images” from other
Hypertimelines. (THE KINGDOM: PLANET KRYPTON #1)

- - - - - - - - - - -

POWERS, SKILLS, AND WEAPONS:

The Assemblers:

Blue Jay can shrink to the size of 7”, grows wings that give him
the ability to fly, has increased speed, agility, and stamina, and
possesses leadership abilities.

Wandjina the Thunderer was a self-proclaimed thunder-god with
super-strength, flight and natural storm and thunder powers.

Jack B. Quick/Johnny Quick/Captain Speed was a speedster whose
top speed rivaled that of the Flash (Barry Allen).

Bowman was a master archer who possibly used trick arrows.

Tin Man had a highly technological armor that possibly endowed
him with super-strength, the ability to fly, and other tricks.

The Unnamed Girl with Wings seemingly had flying powers.

The Unnamed Giant-Man could grow to gargantuan size and possibly
had proportional super-strength.

Uncle Mitch was a master inventor.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The Extremists:

Dreamslayer is a powerful mindmaster and telepath who can
manipulate the living mind as easy as non-living matter. His powers
possibly have an arcane origin.

Lord Havoc and his robot counterpart were both armored with
metal exo-skeletons that gave them great strength and the ability to
absorb energy and release it in powerful blasts.

Doctor Diehard and his robot counterpart both had incredibly
vast magnetic powers. Their powers were so great that they could both
simultaneously control a world’s collective nuclear weapon’s arsenal
(those of Angor and Earth, respectively).

Gorgon and his robot counterpart both had super-strong
tentacles, growing from their heads.

Tracer and his robot counterpart both had super-human strength,
speed, agility, and super-senses.

I thought they were known as the champions of Angor in their first
appearance. But was it Champions with a capital "C" or champions with a
lower case "c"???

Then they become known as the Assemblers, then later the Justifiers.

Their world is called Angor in their 1st appearance. Was it ever shown?
Did it resemble Earth?? Was it in another dimension or was it simply
another planet?

When they were brought back years later, their homeworld is NEVER
referred to as Angor and it clearly resembles Earth in many ways, making
one think it was a parallel Earth.

Did they have the same costumes in their very first appearance as they
did in their later appearances?

I thought the "Wasp" woman in the JLI Quarterly issue was referred to by
her teammates as "T.A.". What that stands for, I don't know.

Didn't the Assemblers/Justifiers also have a butler? How could you
leave him out??? (Just kidding.)

Enda80Member

posted December 30, 2002 02:24 PM

Huh, it is odd that the Assemblers post-Crisis had a world so similar to
Earth.

In fact, their world was not the only world to break the "no
alternate Earths" rule post-Crisis and pre-Zero Hour. In TEEN TITANS
SPOTLIGHT #11, the Brotherhood of Evil visited an alternate Earth where
counterparts of Tintin (Belgian comic strip boy reporter) and his
supporting cast existed. I did a timeline on this at Mikel Midnight's
site.

The author of that issue has pointed out that, yes, his editor
did mention that this story broke the rule, but they went ahead with it
anyway. In personal correspondance, the author (J.M. Lofficier) has
stated that perhaps the world from TTS #11 was a sort of Counter-Earth.

Counter-Earth, of course, refers to a world in the same universe that
was sort of a twin of Earth with regards to size and atmosphere, and so
produced similar lifeforms, and ultimately similar civilizations.
Pythagoras and Star Trek has used this idea (I remember an episode with
the Coms and the Yangs), as has John Norman in his Tarl Cabot novels about
the planet Gor. The High Evolutionary also created a Counter-Earth, and
set it secretly on the other side of the sun.

Besides this, the Pocket Universe of Superboy is another rule-breaker.
Mark Millar's run on SWAMP THING and BOOKS OF MAGIC ANNUAL #3 come to mind,
but as Vertigo books, they stand somewhat outside continuity anyway.

The Batman/Judge Dredd team-ups also seem to violate this rule, but may
not be part of DC continuity anyway. (They seem to be part of Judge Dredd
continuity, though, as a story using Judge Death referred obliquely to the
events of the last Batman team-up.)

MrMGLMember

posted December 30, 2002 10:28 PM

More on the heroes of Angor:

In JUSTICE LEAGUE QUARTERLY #3, Summer 1991, the JLI visits their world
10 years in the past.

Captain Atom sees a "Walking Tour of NY" map!!!! He also says they are
on Mott Street (which is in NY City)!!!!!

Martian Manhunter says "Mitch's world and the Earth are alike in so
many ways . . . perhaps linked, somehow."

I'm probably one of the half-dozen people that even cares, but I would
really really love to see some explanation or an origin of Mitch's world.

Also, Kilowog and Mitch travel back in time 10 1/2 years. When they
return to Earth, it's still 10 1/2 years ago. They encounter the original
JLA only weeks after the formation of the team. Even back then, (some time
before the ZERO HOUR and SECRET FILES timelines) it was understood that the
JLA had formed 10 years earlier.

Enda80Member

posted January 01, 2003 07:46 PM

http://blaklion.best.vwh.net/timelineFrancais.html
has a timeline I did on that other parallel Earth introduced
post-Crisis, the world where the Brotherhood of Evil met counterparts
of Tintin and his friends in an Earth devastated by war.

J AMember

posted January 03, 2003 05:49 PM

Hi Hellst0ne.

Very nice post on the heroes of Angor.

It's a shame they didn't get the same respect as Marvels versions of DC.

In case you're interested, I've started a thread in the Power Company
forum called "One More Try....". Basically it's a thread to try to get
Blue Jay into the Power Company and it could do with some support.

If your post on the "Heroes of Angor" has generated interest from some
of the readers of this thread, and they do want to see the return of Blue
Jay, please post on that thread as Kurt does read the boards.

If enough people say they want to see him, we may get an obscure hero
out of limbo.

Thanks.

outpost2Member

posted January 10, 2003 12:36 AM

I'm finally getting around to bringing the thread archives up to date.
It'll take me a few weeks to get through all the backlog, and at that time
I'll need a volunteer to host the Batman threads (I'm out of web space).
In the meantime, these are the changes since the last time I noted them...

Here's a little extra info on one of the previously covered entries...

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote and published a total of 60 Holmes adventures
between 1887 and 1927. The first novel was entitled "A Study In Scarlet".

Sherlock Holmes was born William Sherlock Scott Holmes on January 6th,
1854. He had at least one brother, Mycroft Holmes, who was seven years his
senior. Some sources also suggest the existence of another brother,
Sherrinford.

Holmes entered Christ Church College at Oxford in 1872, having spent
the previous summer in a class taught by Professor James Moriarty, a man
who would later return as his greatest nemesis. While attending the
university, Holmes investigated and solved the first case of his career.

After leaving Oxford in 1877, Holmes settled in London on Montague
Street and embarked on his career as a consulting detective.

In January 1881, the first meeting of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H.
Watson occurred in the chemistry lab at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, where
Holmes was conducting experiments. Both realized they were in need of a
roommate and, soon afterward, Holmes and Watson moved into a London
apartment at 221B Baker Street.

On May 4th, 1891, Sherlock Holmes was reported dead by his partner, Dr.
Watson. An apparent battle to the death had ensued between Holmes and the
infamous Professor Moriarty, that resulted in both men tumbling over a
cliff at Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland, to a watery grave in the chasm
below.

For the next three years, Watson was led to believe that his friend was
dead. Only the detective's brother, Mycroft, knew that he was actually
alive. During that period, Holmes traveled about as a Norwegian named John
Sigerson. Holmes had used his disappearance as a cover to allow him to
defeat three criminals who were intent on killing him.

Holmes returned to his London practice in 1894, continuing his
investigations until 1903, when he retired to the Sussex Downs.

(Note: In "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", Sherlock Holmes was
still believed dead when the League was formed in 1898.)

outpost2Member

January 11, 2003 06:34 PM

I'm just about done with the archive for this thread. It's about
400K, which means it's time to start Round VII. I'm generating a new,
re-numbered list of characters, so if you have any additions please
request them here before tomorrow night (I missed the Malice request
earlier, so that's now also on the list, as well as Manitou Raven).
The archive for Round VI, and the new thread for Round VII, will be
posted on Sunday by 9:00pm. Thanks.

Guy Gardner, WarriorMember

posted January 11, 2003 06:41 PM

I've got a few requests;

Hook (from Bloodlines)
Edge (Bloodlines)
Tiger-Man (Desmond Farr)

Thanks!

outpost2Member

posted January 11, 2003 11:40 PM

Tiger-Man was already covered.

Consider the other two added.

outpost2Member

posted January 12, 2003 04:36 PM

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
(part two of two)

Mattel action figures and mini-comics:

The Masters Of The Universe

A total of 49 mini-comics were produced as inserts for the Masters
Of The Universe action figures. The first 11 issues were produced by DC
Comics in 1982 and 1983. The subsequent 38 were produced by Mattel from
1984 to 1987.

The 11 DC mini-comics are (by Series, in alphabetical order):

"Battle In The Clouds", 1982, Series 1.
"He-Man And The Power Sword", 1982, Series 1.
"King Of Castle Grayskull", 1982, Series 1.
"The Tale Of Teela!", 1982, Series 1.
"The Vengeance Of Skeletor", 1982, Series 1.

"He-Man Meets Ram-Man!", 1983, Series 2.
"The Ordeal Of Man-E-Faces!", 1983, Series 2.
"The Magic Stealer!", 1983, Series 2.
"The Menace Of Trap Jaw!", 1983, Series 2.
"The Power Of ... Point Dread!", 1983, Series 2.
"The Terror Of Tri-Klops!", 1983, Series 2.

She-Ra, Princess Of Power

11 mini-comics were produced by Mattel as inserts for the She-Ra,
Princess Of Power action figures from 1985 to 1987. There are two
different versions of the first mini-comic, "The Story of She-Ra". The
original edition was included with the She-Ra action figure. The
alternate edition appeared as a special insert in the Spring 1985 issue
of Barbie Magazine.

The New Adventures Of He-Man

4 mini-comics were produced by Mattel as inserts for the New
Adventures Of He-Man action figures in 1989.